Adopted by the Dark
by FallenSHIN0BI
Summary: Harry was left at the mercies of the Dursleys by Dumbledore. But, while living there, he meets a cheerful boy and his father who can't believe the way he was abused. The Boy-Who-Lived gets adopted into a powerful family and now has a protective older brother and an equally protective Father. The Wizarding world won't even expect what happens next. HarryxOC
1. Chapter 1: Harry James Potter-Sharp

Summary: Harry was left at the mercies of the Dursleys by Dumbledore. But, while living there, he meets a cheerful boy and his father who can't believe the way he was abused. The Boy-Who-Lived gets adopted into a powerful family and now has a protective older brother and an equally protective Father. The Wizarding world won't even expect what happens next.

This should be fun. It will be HarryxOC; and the OC is a guy so be warned. But if you don't mind, enjoy!

~FS

...

Chapter 1: Harry James Potter-Sharp

...

He sniffled. The brunette lay on the ground, not moving. He just lay there, behind the school, waiting for the pain to pass. He was bruised and battered; Even so, the young boy was glad his glasses weren't broken again. It was an easy enough fix but it just made them look worse and worse every time. He was seven and he knew he shouldn't be like this, but he couldn't help it. Harry had learned that it was best to keep quiet and suffer through it then fight back. Fighting back only got him in trouble and locked in the cabinet under the stairs.

Harry eventually pulled himself up, cringing at the pain. He didn't know what he had done to make Dudley and his gang go so hard on him this time. In all honesty, it was a miracle his bones weren't broken. He knew that he would just get yelled at for being late to class if he went in; the Dursleys were secretly quite well off and avide supporters of the schools near him. So really, that meant the teachers and staff were under their influence as well. Harry had only known one teacher that wasn't and she was promptly fired for reasons the boy never heard. Sighing, Harry began the long, painful walk to the nearby park.

The wind swirled around him, as he limped along, depressed. Why had he been cursed like this? Harry knew from what his Aunt and Uncle had told him was that his parents had died in an accident. They were quite clear about the fact they had been, against their will, been dumped with a freak whose parents died by their own stupidity. Harry knew that that wasn't true; his parents weren't stupid. They were probably kind, and loving, and smart, and really cool... Definitely not stupid people. Still, he never talked back, never questioned them. It didn't pay to pull a stunt like that.

He sat down on a swing, and slowly went back and forth, back and forth. The young boy gasped as his nose began to bleed a bit. He quickly tilted his head back and applied pressure to his nose; the brunette had gotten them before. A lot of them actually. He was too busy with this fact to hear another person skip up. "Hi there!" A cheerful voice rang out. Harry was so startled that he fell backwards, out of the swing and into the ground. He gasped as his head hit the mulch. He laid there, dizzy as the boy's happy voice drilled into his head, "Bloody hell! Sorry for scaring you, I thought you had seen me!"

Harry felt surprisingly strong hands pull him up as a concerned boy Harry's age looked him over. He was a little tall for his age, with shining gold blond hair that swept around his head. He had a dazzlingly white smile that was concerned but also ridiculously happy. And his eyes... Harry was mesmerized. He had beautiful and unique eyes; his left brilliantly blue while the right was emerald green like Harry's. The brunette couldn't help but not stop looking into them. He was woken up though when the blonde waved a hand in front of his eyes. "Good, just wanted to make sure you were alright. You seemed a bit dazed there for a moment."

Harry finally got himself to speak, barely mumbling a thank you and then apologizing for doing that. To his surprise, the blonde waved his apology away, "No need to apologize; I was the one to scare you after all! My name's Veritas!" Harry's lips smiled around his bruises as he giggled a bit, "That's a funny name!" The brunette's eyes widened with fear, "I'msorry, didn'tmeanthat, pleasepleasepleasedonthurtme." Veritas' eyes widened with surprise and concern at the fear shaking the other boy, "Wow wow wow, it's okay mate! I don't mind, It's an interesting name for sure!"

Harry sniffled a bit; was the guy joking? "So you're not mad? You're not going to hit me like everyone else does?" Veritas looked concerningly into the other boy's face. He pulled Harry onto a bench, "Listen, what's your name?" "Frea- n-n-n-no I mean Harry, my name is Harry." Veritas was really concerned now, "Why would you almost call yourself a freak Harry?" The other boy sniffled a bit more, "Cause that's what they call me. I thought I was named Freak until I was about three and a half or four."

The blonde's hand clasped around his, "Harry, listen to me." Veritas' had cupped Harry's chin and tilted his head up to look into his eyes; Harry's breath hitched as he made eye contact, the other's eyes bearing no judgement. "No matter what they tell you, don't listen. I don't know who gave you these bruises or called you such a mean thing but, Harry listen to me; you are not a freak." The brunette's eyes widened and internally he gasped, the other boy's words resounding in his young head. _Not a freak. Not a freak. Not a freak._ "You are a nice person Harry don't let them tell you otherwise," The boy held up Harry's hand against his, "My daddy told me my name means "Truth". So let me tell you the truth Harry. I refuse to see you treated like this. I will be your friend. I will be it now, I will be it later, I will be it when you die. You have my word; and Daddy taught me never to go back on my word."

Harry was stunned. Friends?! Someone who thought he was something, that he was someone, a person who cared about him?! The brunette threw his arms around the other boy, hugging him tightly. Veritas was a bit suprised at first but then returned the embrace. He soon heard Harry crying and quickly pulled the boy away to look at him. "Harry? What's wrong, why are you crying?" The blonde said as tears slowly ran down his new friend's face. "I'm just... Just so happy. I have a friend! A real friend!" The brunette beamed a smile even bigger then Veritas'. Said blonde grinned but internally thought, 'Those people. Whoever they are; I'm telling Daddy about this and he'll show them that you can't just do this to people.' He then got up and held out his hand to Harry, "C'mon, let's play!"

The beaming boys happily played for hours before Harry realized that he needed to start heading... "Home". His shoulders sagged from this thought. The blonde noticed and offered to walk to Harry's house with him. The brunette perked up a bit at this but was still sad. He didn't want to go home; home now seemed to be with Veritas, where he was able to be happy and free of judgement. At least he had a friend now, a friend that would stand by him. His hand grabbed Veritas' hand for comfort and the other boy have the hand a squeeze. The blonde hated leaving Harry with them even a minute more. These people had gained his eternal hate.

They parted ways in front of the Dursleys' house. "I'll be at the park everyday. Come by if you are allowed to. I'll wait for you." Harry's lip quivered, but he nodded. The boy sulkily walked up to the door and knocked. Even though he was now down a block, he could hear Mr. Dursleys' rage. Veritas' hand clenched in anger. "It's sad isn't it?" The blonde looked up in surprise. Sitting on a nearby bench was his Father. "Daddy!" He said happily, running up and hugging the man. He laughed, "Hey kiddo, good to see you too!" The young boy's face looked up at his Father's, "Father did you hear? Did you hear him? They call him a freak and torture him!"

The man growled a bit, "I heard son. And I am not amused in the slightest." The young boy had a fearful look on his face, afraid for his friend, "What are you going to do? Daddy, what?" His father picked up his son and placed him on his lap, "Harry needs help. He needs to be taken out if that house. Honestly, I think the Dursleys wouldn't mind getting rid of him. But I don't think he should be put into an orphanage or a foster system. He'd just get bullied again." Veritas watched his father think it over, "Hmmm... Say, son?" "Yeah?" "How would you like to have a little brother?"

...

His father was true to his word. After Veritas played a couple more times with Harry, his dad introduced himself. Harry was quite taken back. The man was an imposing figure; he was tall, slim yet obviously muscular, wore a black trench coat and slacks with shiny black shoes. He had a scarf wrapped around his neck. The brunette thought this was a little odd, as it was the middle of summer. But for all this toughness, he had bright cheery eyes and the kindest smile Harry had seen... Well, besides Veritas'. When they had first met, Harry was scared senseless. He had stood there shaking behind Veritas, using the blond to shield him from the adult. "Harry, come here," his voice said, paradoxically gentle and firm at the same time. The brunette had shuffled out from his hiding place, Veritas gently pushing him in front of his father.

"Why are you scared of me Harry?" Sniffling, voice quivering, Harry spoke after a quick look at the blonde, who nodded his support, "Ev-everyone hates me. The adults say mean things and don't care about what the kids do to me. They just yell and yell and call me a freak, and-and," the boy stopped as the man knelt and wrapped Harry in strong loving arms. "Listen to me Harry. You are not a freak. You are not messed up or screwed up or a burden. You are a handsome young boy that deserves better than what these people are doing to you." Harry was shocked once again. This couldn't be real. First Veritas, now this man had said it. _Not a freak_. He felt like crying; this curse that was killing him was being broken. Then his heart sank, as he remembered where he had to go after their meeting was over. More tears ran down his face.

"Harry, tell me what is wrong?" The boy sobbed, "It's just I won't be able to be with you two all the time. I have to go back to them. And they'll just throw me into that cabinet again." Rage flickered through the father's mind. How dare these people do this to such a young boy, the Boy-Who-Lived at that. "I-I wi-wish tha-*sniffle*-at *sob* I could live with you guys." Veritas looked at his father hopefully; the man nodded and pulled away Harry, holding him at an arm's length. "Do you want to? Do you want to be part of our family?" Harry's eyes widened, was he hearing him right?! "I've heard from my son about you and especially now that I've met you, I can't stand it. I wish I could have known you sooner and saved you from so much. Do you want me, as your father and Veritas as your brother? I promise you will be loved, not a freak, not thrown in a closet. I promise you the same love I give my son. Do you want that?"

Tears of joy flowed from Harry's eyes, "Yes! Yes oh Yes! Thank you thank you! ...Father." He saw how the boy hesitated at the word. The man knew it'd be a while before he was completely comfortable with that word, but the man vowed he'd do everything in his power to make it easy for the boy. He chuckled a bit, "I'm not technically not your Father yet, but I am personally taking you back to your house to talk to your relatives." Father hugged his new son before letting him go. The brunette flung himself around the blonde boy's neck, "Yay! You're my brother, my big brother!" Veritas smiled and hugged his new little brother as he made his own vow; he'd never let anyone harm this sweet little brother he'd been blessed with.

They walked to Privet Dr. as one family happily laughing and talking. Harry found his brother's full name was Veritas Peter Sharp and his father was Alek Sharp. He also found out they had actually new his parents. Harry had tentatively asked his question, "Did my parents die in a car accident?" Both were shocked, "A car accident?! Is that what they told you?!" Harry had nodded, although fearful that something worse had happened. "I can't believe they told you that. I don't think this is the time or place to tell you the story, since it requires me to tell you some other things as well, but I will tell, don't worry."

When they arrived at the Dursleys', Alek gave Harry's shoulder a comforting squeeze. Harry smiled timidly, and Veritas put an arm around his shoulder. Father turned and knocked on the door. After a few minutes, Uncle Vernon opened the door, "Hello, what can I-?" His eyes narrowed when he saw the young Harry. "YOU. What are you doing out again?" His face grew redder, as the brunette clung to his big brother's side, fearful. "YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED OUT UNLESS YOUR CHORES ARE DONE!" Mr. Sharp cleared his throat and Vernon quickly turned to the man, "I'm so sorry this boy is bothering you, thank you for bringing him back." Dursley reached for Harry, who was whimpering, when Alek reached out and stopped him.

"I would like to talk to you and your wife. May we come in?" Vernon gaped for a moment before quickly nodding. After Alek went past him, his Uncle leaned down and whispered into Harry's ear, "Go to Dudley's second bedroom and stay there until he leaves." Harry turns, looking at the blonde who still had his arm wrapped around his slightly younger brother. Veritas caught his Father's eye, who nodded, before going with Harry to the room. "Pat! Pat! Get some tea for this man." Petunia gasped at the man and smiled and begin heating up some tea.

After they had handed out the tea, and had chatted a bit, Alek leaned forward, "Now, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley. I have reason to believe you don't like your boy Harry," He secretly took glee at their faces. "In fact, I'd say you hate him. And I have this on good authority. Now, I could report this to the police and you all would be arrested." Their faces paled. "However, I'm sure that Harry would only get abused by someone else. So, I want to make a deal." Vernon and Petunia exchanged looks, "What.. Deal?" Said Vernon fearfully. Alek smiled, "I would like to adopt him." The couple was stunned. Alek pressed on, "You'd be rid of the boy, I would completely legally responsible for him, you'd be able to wipe your hands of the situation. What do you think?"

Petunia was sputtering, while Vernon was thinking it over, "It's not a bad idea. In fact, I really like your idea. We'd be rid of that boy for good." He eyed the man who was the solution to their problems, "And you won't report us?" Alek seethed on the inside but kept calm and nodded, "I really should, but I won't report you. I'm willing to take him now and just pay you visits to get the paperwork done." Vernon gave Petunia a questioning look; she nodded, very glad that that cursed child would no longer be a threat to Dudles. Vernon nodded to Alek, "We accept." The man smiled and handed Mr. Dursley a card with his information on it, "Call me; I'll be sure to call you so we can get this over with quickly."

...

That day, Harry became Harry James Potter-Sharp, heir to the Potter family and son of the Sharp family. And he couldn't be happier. He got to be with people who loved him, and wasn't treated terribly like he used to. The brunette was fed well, and he was treated with so much love and kindness. He absolutely lived being here; it helped that Harry adored his older brother. Harry was shorter than the boy, and the abuse had made him very shy. Still, he was the nicest boy you would know and Veritas loved his brother with no limit. If it wasn't for Father's promise, he would have murdered the Dursleys himself.

Harry was told about his parents and about the wizarding world. There really was no way around it and he needed to know. He had cried for a while, all the time being held by his older brother. The Boy-Who-Lived soon had come to terms with it. It wasn't like he didn't have a family that cared about him. He wished he had known his parents, but he was happy living with his new family. And there was his pet.

When Father had found out he could talk to snakes, he was elated. He said it was a very rare ability that many took as a sign of evil but of course he disagreed. Daddy knew that Harry wasn't evil and bought the boy a pet snake. The beautiful snake at first was startled by the Parseltongue but quickly took a liking to the boy. The brunette loved the creature's elegence and they became excelent friends. He named the snake Schlange, and to his family's amusement, he had a tendency to hide in the boy's robes. A few family friends were scared senseless when the first saw this; Veritas always nearly died from laughing when it happened.

Unlike many rich magical families, the Sharps did not mix very often with other rich families. Harry wished they did, but he was content with the company of Schlange and, of course, his older brother. Father told Harry that they weren't full-blooded wizards, and that's why they were always kind-of loners; the Sharp family was actually something much more. Back when the concepts of Light and Dark were in their infancy, two twins worked individually on the two recently discovered aspects. They way the two magics differed caused them to debate over which was better and safer. It progressed to the point that that both brothers wanted to kill the other. In an attempt to decide once and for all, the Dark brother mastered his magic to where he actually manged to fuse the Spirit of Darkness into himself.

But in that final battle, the Light brother did something unsuspected. He harnessed the ultimitium of Light's power, a power that surpassed all the hate he had. As cheesy as it sounds, he harnessed the power of Love. It was in that moment where he perfectly understood his brother and loved him. It is argued that he was the first seer; the Light brother saw how his sacrfice would change his brother would change his brother from the path of evil and willingly gave himself up. This unselfishness ripped apart the still living brother's heart. The Love he had just seen displayed changed him and the Darkness. They did not believe that Dark was the only power worth using anymore. They turned from the path of evil they were traveling.

They brother took on a new name and created the family now known as the Sharps. Harry had listened to this story, enthralled. "You see Son, Dark does not mean evil. For our family are the Dark race, and we fight for justice." Harry couldn't believe it, it surpassed anything he had heard before. He looked at his Father frowning, "So am I part of this race?" Father laughed, "No Son, you are not," Seeing Harry's sad face, he quickly amended his statement. "Not even Veritas is." The young brunette was now very confused. His Dad picked up and put him on his lap. "Whenever those in the Sharp family turn 11, we do a ceremony were the All-Father of our kind, which is currently me, infuses some of his blood into the child. This tranfers and begins changing your body, giving you many physical improvements and giving you the powers of Darkness. You in the cremony become one of us, one of the _Deti t'my_, as our kind's native tongue says."

Harry says, "I can't wait a couple years to do it!" His Father smiled, "Patience Son. It is not something we can hurry. Your body must be strong enough to handle it. So train, and be ready for that day."

...

Hope you enjoy this series. It will be Harry and Veritas paired up. I don't know how exactly everyoe will be paired up, so if you have any ideas let me know.

Also, _Deti t'my _means "Children of Darkness" in Russian... at least, that's what google says. If anyone speaks Russian and I'm using the wrong phrase, please let me know. Anyways, enjoy the series! Next chapter we'll be getting ready for Hogwarts and doing the ceremony for Harry and Veritas.

~FS


	2. Chapter 2: The Ceremony

Whew, I got this part finished faster! I really had meant for this and the last chapter to be one, but that was going too be way too long! Anyways, enjoy this chapter!

~FS

...

Chapter 2: The Ceremony

...

Alek sighed as he read the paper. Sometimes he wished Voldemort had never existed; it might have made his job easier. But, he thought grimly as he continued to read, it had always been like this. Ever since he had become the All-Father of the _Deti t'my_, he had painfully watched his people become more and more persecuted. It did not help that some idiotic Dark Lords decided to not finish what they started. Honestly, if they were going to remake the world, they could have at least do the job right. Now, their rebellions only made people fear the Dark more!

The leader of his race sighed, leaning his head back. As the _Vse Ottsa _of his people, he needed to make sure they were eduacated properly. But bloody Dumbledore had taken Dark Arts off of the curriculum! How were those fused with the Darkness supposed to learn if they weren't taught about their natural magic? Thankfully, Hogwarts wasn't compulsive; he had managed to get the rest of his family to be accepted into Durmstrang where the Dark Arts were taught.

But this year, he may not get that luxury. Harry was the Savior of the Wizarding world according to Dumbledore. Honestly, prophecies were so fickle; some events foretold never came to pass soley due to the fact they were prophecied to occur! But with the Archnemesis of their "Savior" a Dark Lord, Harry was going to be hounded for studying at a place that taught the Dark Arts and for not being with the leader of the Light. It gave the man a headache trying to figure out a way to not have Harry go to Hogwarts.

He took his mind off of the problem while he thought about his sons. Alek was glad his son had met Harry; the way the boy was being treated was inexcusable. But he wasn't really heartless, he hadn't done too much to the Dursleys in retaliation, even if they did deserve it. His real enemy was that fool Dumbledore. Victory would be sweet when he paid that man back fo all the torture his son had suffered. Alek was glad that Veritas had taken such a liking to Harry; they were the best friends, even if they were still brothers. Of course they annoyed each other sometimes; Harry normally got the short end of the stick as he was smaller and weaker than his older brother. Of course, Veritas wouldn't do anything that bad, the worst was Harry getting hung by his underwear and that happened rarely.

Alek chuckled; he was getting the sneaking suspision that Veritas more than just liked Harry, but he didn't really care. It was nice to have them around and it was a heck of a lot better than them hating each other. He grinned as he saw the time. They'd probably be at their Christmas morning antics again.

...

Veritas crept up to his brother's bed, giddy with excitement. It was always like this Christmas morning; they'd always see who could wake the other up first. Almost every year, Harry had won. The blonde brother thought that Harry didn't even sleep the night before Christmas. But this time would be different. This time, he had gotten up first and would wake up his younger brother. He waited, waited for the digital clock on Harry's night stand to turn 5:00. When it did, he sprang forward, whooping with glee, "Wake up slacker! It's Christmas!" He pulled off the covers from Harry's slumbering form.

Harry wasn't there. Veritas didn't even have time to realize he had been duped before a very happy boy latched himself around his older brother's neck, "Gotcha brother!" Saying it in a sing-song voice. Veritas laughed with him, and as they fell from Veritas being caught off guard, they laughed even harder. The blonde loved it when his brother laughed, it was light, cheerful and happy. The abuse still affected him; Harry rarely opened up to those who weren't in the family. And really, "family" meant Father and Veritas. Even their close relatives that didn't live at the Manor anymore had a hard time getting him to open up.

So he did whatever he could to make the boy laugh. It was one of his joys in life really. The boy had suffered so much when he was younger, Harry needed to get to have a good time now that he had a family that loved him. Veritas pulled his little brother into a headlock and began giving him a noogie. Harry was laughing his head off, "I give, I give!" The blonde let go and ruffled his smaller brother's silky hair. "Come on let's wake up Father!" They went out of their rooms and snuck downstairs. The two had to pass the living room to get to their Dad's bedroom; they saw him awake in there. Sighing at the disappointment of not being able to wake him up, the went into the room.

"Hello boys; sorry if I ruined your fun, but I've had a busy morning." The brothers looked at the newspaper in his father's hands. NEW LAWS TO LIMIT DARK CREATURES screamed across the front. They looked at each other before looking concerningly at their Dad, "Is it bad Father?" Harry timidly asked. The man's smile was strained, "Not too bad. Yet. This is mainly just more safety precautions concerning werewolves. There isn't too big of an impact except that more and more succesfull legislation will make them more eager to pass anti-Dark laws." Their Father was looking thoughtfully at the article, "And as the patron for anything Dark, it worries me. I'm pulling my influence as best as I can, but still..."

Their Father turned to both of them, "Let's not dwell on that. It's Christmas after all!" The boy's cheered and ran over to the lit up tree, eagerly sorting out the presents they were allowed to open before the rest of the family got here. Veritas found one of his first; he eagerly ripped off the gift wrapping. He cheered loudly and happily as he pulled out a Nimbus 2000 from the long box. Harry was envious, but only slightly. Veritas said he was a natural but the younger brother didn't care too much about the sport. Harry quickly opened one of his two from their dad and was delighted to find a gold wizard chess set, Gold figures for the white side, Obsidion characters for the black side, board made of the same materials. He hugged his Father who smiled lovingly and insisted that both if them deserved no less.

Both were eager to try out their gifts but their Father reminded them there was one other present they could open this early. The brothers found the two identical boxes after a moment. After exchanging glances, they opened up the black packages. Sitting in both were rings bearing the family crest on them. The black Phoenixes rose from equally black flames made a gleaming black metal their father said was a special type of mithril, the strongest and longest lasting metal available currently. They had, in the background of the crest, been made of precious metals; Gold for Veritas (due to his hair) and Emerald for Harry (due to his eyes). They noticed their Father had a similar ring with a ruby background on his hand.

They were ecstatic and were about to put them on when their Father stopped them. "These rings bear special significance. Every member of the Sharp family had one made when they were ready to receive their inheritance and become one of us." Both boy's eyes widened. "Yes it means what you think it does." Their Dad said smiling, "I believe that both of you are ready. I know you want to receive it together and I think it'll be safe for Harry to do a few months early of his 11th. You had your birthday a few weeks ago Veritas, so all should be fine. We could do it whenever you're ready. We could do it now before everyone even gets here."

Both boys were excited, "Yes! Yes! We got to do it now!" Their Father rolled his eyes at their enthusiasm, and got up and led them to a room. It was a sleek room with walls of glass and a marble floor. Outside the glass, some weird reddish-purplish-blackish- slime filled the area just outside the room. In the center of the room a circular depression with steps leading down to it was covered with the family crest. The boy's looked suspiciously at the fluid outside. "That is liquid darkness," their Father said, striding to the center of the depression. "It is a material that enhances our power and is used to make the Black Mithril of our rings." He clicked a button and Black Mithril plates slid over the glass. "We found that by surrounding the room with Liquid Darkness and then making the walls of Black Mithril enhanced the ceremony to where it takes much less time to recover."

The boys looked at each other, "Recover?" Nodding, Father explained, "The ceremony had two parts. First the Transfer of Blood, where the All-Father, or head of our race, transfers some of his blood into your body. Your cells are transformed by this. One of the abilities you gain is healing. Immense healing. You can heal from mortal wounds in minutes. However, to start with, your body will heal slower, as it gets used to the healing process. That's where the second part comes in. The First Death." "Death?!" Harry exclaimed, suddenly very nervous. Veritas put a hand on his shoulder for support while their Dad explained.

"In it I mortally wound you. I promise to make it a painless wound. Anyways, it's to speed up your cell's conversion to Dark cells, and to get your body used to healing. You will be unconscious during this. This room's modifications will help speed it up even more, this making the whole process only take a few minutes." Their Father crouched down to their eye level. "Are you guys ready?" Harry looked nervously at his older brother, who gave his shoulder a squeeze of support. Both looked at their father and nodded their readiness.

Father led them into the center. They stood next to each other, nervous, but determined. Their Father began muttering some incantation causing the crest beneath them to light up. He pulled out a knife, made of the same metal, and gave it to them, "All you need to do is make a small cut, not deep, just enough to break the skin and bleed a bit." Harry was trembling so Veritas took the knife. He took his little brother's hand and looked in his eyes, to see if he was ready. Harry quickly nodded and looked away, squeezing his eyes shut. The blonde quickly made a shallow cut across Harry's palm, drawing a little blood. Harry gasped a bit at the pain and a tear went down his cheek. Guilt stabbed Veritas' heart and he quickly used a finger to wipe away the tear. He then cut his own palm, hissing softly at the bite of the blade.

Their Father took their hands; they watched in amazement as, before his hand closed around theirs, their Dad's hand opened up and the blood came out in tendrils. His hand closed around theirs and they could feel the blood from their Father entering their blood stream. After a couple moments, he let go and they looked in amazement at their hands now completely healed. "The process has started. Now for your First Deaths." They both looked up to see pistols pointed at their foreheads and then the world went white.

...

Groaning, Veritas pulled himself up. He would never let himself get shot in the head again. He shook to clear his head and saw Father sitting in a chair he had brought in with breakfast on the table he had also brought. Veritas looked over at the still unconsious form of his little brother. Well, not as little anymore. The blonde, grinning, pulled himself to his feet, as his Father conjured up a mirror so he could look at hinself. Veritas had stayed very much the same, though he had gained a couple inches, was a little more muscular, and the little acne he had gotten recently was gone. He gasped as he noticed that his blue eye had turned red. His emerald had stayed the same; he actually didn't really mind though. It looked pretty cool and uique.

He sat next to his father, "When will Harry wake up?" He asked, concerned. His Dad smiled and handed him a plate of French Toast, "As my biological son, you have a slight advantage in the process. Also his body is being corrected in more areas. Height, Sature, Posture, even fixing some eye damage. He should wake up in another ten minutes or so." Veritas settled down and watched his younger brother.

About twelve minutes later, Harry stirred, groaning. His older blonde brother hurried over and helped him up. "Getting shot in the head sucks," Harry mumbled, as both his brother and Father laughed at this. His eyes widened, as the fact he had been killed sank in. Veritas steadied his little brother and helped him up, "Want to see the improved you?" Said the blonde with a grin. Harry nodded and managed to pull himself and walk over to the mirror. He gasped, amazed. He was taller, still a little shorter than Veritas, but a littler taller than average size. He seemed a little more muscular and filled out than before, though still thin by anyone's standards. His hair had also gotten darker, closer to Father's black hair. And even though his glasses had fallen off, he could see perfectly.

Both members of his family walked over. His brother happily put an arm around his neck while their Dad put a hand on each of their shoulders. "You both look great. You should put the rings on now." Grinning from ear to ear, they both did, happier than they had ever been. Both could feel the power of the _Deti t'my_ flowing through their veins. "Now sons," they looked at Father. "Only your Dark magic has been enhanced. So Sorry Veritas, unless you're casting Dark Magic you'll still suck at it." The blonde frowned in annoyance; his Dad smiled and continued, "However, you have been gifted with an enhanced body. Harry's was merely corrected to how he should have been all along if not for the Dursleys," the man said, growling a bit when he said Dursley.

Veriats and Harry looked at each other. "What do you mean "Enhanced"?" Harry asked timidly. Smiling approvingly, their Father continued, "Harry, it means you will be without a doubt unequaled in Magic by any wizard. You have natural Talent for Light magic, increased by your now close affinity to the Dark side of Magic. But don't worry Veritas," he said to the blonde's disappointed face. "Unlike Harry, your body has been enhanced. Remember those martial arts you learned? You'll find that you'll move faster, hit harder, and be able to take more damage. All in adittion to our race's massive healing factor. You'll learn to most likely dodge evry attack someone used against you. And remember, you now also have a natural Dark Magic affinity, meaning that you'll be able to duel with Dark Arts just fine."

Their Father backed up, "Congratulations, both of you! You are now _Deti t'my_!" As the two brothers celebrated, cheering and hugging, two letters were delivered by one of the couple house Elves. Alek didn't like slavery, but appreciated the help, so he paid his Elves and made sure that they'd be properly fed and attaired. Father took the two letters, eyes narrowing at the seal. Sighing, he gave the letters to his Sons. It appeared that Dumbledore would be making sure Harry attended Hogwarts after all.

...

_Deti t'my_: Children of Darkness

_Vse Ottsa _: All-Father

Now in response to a reviewer:

**Ina Bauer:**

_"...I do not like Hogwarts. In too many FF's Hogwarts plays a major role..."_

-I agree that it'd be nice to see another school besides Hogwarts (like Durmstrang), but I personally do not feel qualified to write about the school (I know very little about it and there's very little information on it either.) Also, in this story, its a bit necessary for them to go to Hogwarts. So sorry, but that won't be happening.

Anyways, I'll see you guys next time! We'll be going to Diagon Alley and meeting some more of the Sharp Family.

~FS


	3. Chapter 3: The Sharps and Diagon Alley

Alright everyone, I have a request!  
If you're still reading this story, I assume that you want it to be a long story. As such, I believe a cover pic is in order. However, My drawing abilities aren't that great. So, I'd be extremely honored I someone would draw one for me. If you have one or an idea, please message me and we can talk about it. Thanks!  
~FS

...

Chapter 3: The Sharps and Diagon Alley Part 1

...or Crazy Siblings, Spirits, and Brother Wands

...

They had just walked back into the living room, the brothers excitedly talking about Hogwarts, when the fireplace exploded with fire. Out of it, a older teen, 17, walked out grinning maliciously. "Hello everyone, I'm home!" The teen smoothed his black vest covering his crisp white Oxford shirt, making sure his pitch black slacks and shiny black shoes had made it through the journey alright. His eyes were red like coals and his blond hair barely was staying tame. Father rolled his eyes, "Hello Lucius, how's Durmstrang?" Lucius grin was wicked as he set down his uniform jacket, "Fantastic! You remember how Gellert went there? I've been researching his experimentations, and I plan on replicating his work once I graduate."

He sat down on the couch, "And how are my favorite little brothers?" Harry kept behind Veritas as the blonde rolled his eyes. Lucius was a sadist and loved the fact his mere presence scared Harry. "We're fine. Look what we did." Veritas held up his ring. Lucius's eyes widened, "You did the ceremony? Both of you?" Harry nodded, "Congratulations both of you! I was wondering why Harry seemed taller." He looked at his watch, "Those dumb-asses can't even get here on time." He spun upside down, head an inch off the floor, legs dangling over the back of the couch.

The Sharp Family currently had six members in the immediate family; Harry, Veritas, Lucius, Rachael, Antonio, and then Father. Soon, the other two came in. Rachael, 19, wearing dragon hide jeans and a light shirt. She was a collector of creatures and ingredients, so she was always dressed like that. Antonio soon dropped in, black mithril weaved pants, dark green black mithril shirt, and black mithril cloak billowing around him, black hair spiked. He was 23 and the youngest professor at Durmstrang, their current Professor for Types and Uses for Dark Creatures. They happily talked before all of them settled around the tree, and their Father motioned for quiet. "Another year has come and gone, and we celebrate another successful year. But today we have another cause for celebration! This morning, at 5:09, our youngest family members gained their inheritance!"

They all cheered as Harry and Veritas grinned from ear to ear. He gave them a little bit to celebrate; then, their Father waved for quiet again, "Harry and Veritas, could you allow us four to have a quick private talk real fast before we continue. It's very important." Both boys looked at their Father, crestfallen. He nodded, and they sighed and got up and went upstairs while they talked. Antonio looked curiously at their Father, "What's wrong?" Alek sighed, "Those two will be going to Hogwarts." Rachael and Antonio were confused, as Lucius looked angry. The blond teenager angerly gestured, "Why?! Our family has been going to Durmstrang for generations, you're on the Board for goodness sakes! And we all know you hate Dumbledore's ideology!"

Antonio looked like a lightbulb came on, "This has to do with Dumbledore doesn't it?" All eyes focused on the All-Father as he leaned back in his chair, hands together. "Right on the money Son. Dumbledore has sent letters of Invitation to Harry and Veritas. No doubt he wants to have his little "Savior" nearby and under his indoctrination. And, unfortunately, I can't do too much to resist. I have connections but as we keep mostly to ourselves, and send our children to schools out of the country, people don't really know us. Without a doubt he'd smear our name for keeping their little innocent hero away from being in the "right place"." Everyone chuckled a bit at that. Lucius leaned forward, "But we have plenty of influence, even without people "knowing" us! We should be able to counter-act anything he does!"

Alek shook his head, "I can barely keep the more radical of the laws to be passed. And that's easier to take care of than an enemy's smear campaign. I will have to relent to his "request". Of course, he has no idea what we really are or strive for. He merely believes us to be wealthy aristocrats. So, in a way, this will help us by getting us people in their camp. But,still, I worry for the two of them if they go. Dumbledore is not above using any method he could get away with." Alek looked at each in turn, "You already have a job at Durmstrang Antonio, and Hogwarts would never accept you and your insanity Lucius, especially without Antonio there to keep you under control."

Rachael inclined her head, "I assume you want me to go with them Father? Alek nodded, "I need someone to watch out for them and to represent MY interests when it comes to my children. I don't want Dumbledore to just ignore what our family thinks." Alek got up, rubbing his head a bit. Why was he and his family cursed to never live an easy life? "From what I've heard, the grounds-keeper Hagrid does a magnificent job. However, some years it seems the work may be a bit too much for one man to handle. Perhaps applying to be an assistant and general helper would work. You'd be able to help out professors with help and get into their good graces and maybe eventually their inner circle."

Rachael sighed, "I guess I can. I'll miss the hunting season for multiple creatures," her eyes hardened, "But I will not let Dumbledore have free reign with my family." Alek nodded, thankful she had agreed. "Now, as you've all been to a school before, I believe that we should all as a family, help them figure out what they need." Lucius's eyes lit up, "Can I pick out some delightfully Dark, maybe even _Evil_, equipment for them? I could help then get into sooo much trouble!" Alek chuckled, shaking his head, "I doubt anyone would appreciate you helping someone become more like you." The other two siblings vehemently agreed, while Lucius rolled his eyes. Alek went to the stairs, "Boys! You can come down now!"

They hurried down, Harry's snake slithering into his sleeves, and Father nodded to everyone else. They got up and started Apparating away. The brothers looked curiously at their Dad. "Take my hand." Both took a hand and then held each other's as well. "We'll be going to Diagon Alley today with everyone to get your stuff for school. They were very enthusiastic about it." Grinning, the boys held on as their Father Apparated them their. Harry was glad he had grabbed Veritas' and Father's hand. Apparating and Portkeys had always made him nauseous. They appeared next to the other three Sharps.

Schlange slithered out of Harry's sleeve, [_Where are we?_] Harry smiled and hissed back, [_Diagon Alley. I'll be going to school soon. Sorry, but I can't talk back much since we're in public._] Schlange nodded and went back into his sleeve and coming out from his collar and lying next to his ear, sunning himself. Father nodded to Antonio, "Could you take them to get their wands? I'll get their robes. Rachael, could you get their owls? Lucius go with Antonio."

Everyone agreed and parted ways. Harry and Veritas talked excitedly about Hogwarts as they picked up snippets of conversations. "It's the Nimbus 2000, the fastest ever!" Harry laughed at Veritas' smirk a as they passed by. Antonio led them down the street, towards Ollivander's, when Harry felt a coolness wash over his scar. His face must have looked confused as Antonio looked concernedly at Harry, "You okay?" "Yeah, it's just my scar feels really cold and tingly all of a sudden-." He stopped as the smile was wiped off his much older brother's face, and as Veritas chimed in, "I can feel a tingle in the air. Don't know what it is."

Antonio pulled them close, "Stay next to me and let's move." They hurried down the packed street. "I have the feeling too Veritas. We _Deti t'my _can feel Dark forces. I know there is at least a disembodied Dark spirit around here. But Harry's scar reacting like that... There can only be one spirit that can do that." The color drained from Veritas' face, "Bloody hell." Antonio grimly nodded as they neared Ollivander's, "Apparently You-Know-Who isn't as dead as Dumbledore claimed him to be. I'll let Father know when we met back up." He said as the arrived at Ollivander's. Harry and Veritas quickly hurried in as Antonio looked around one last time trying to pinpoint the Dark Lord's spirit. His eyes narrowed as he failed and swept into the shop with his younger brothers.

"Ah hello there Mr. Sharp, I'll be with you in a moment." Antonio nodded to the Ollivander as the man turned back to his current customers. He observed them as his younger siblings chatted. There were three of them, obviously wealthy aristocrats. There was a man whom Antonio assumed to be the father, a lady, assumed to be the mother, and their son. All had blond and silvery hair and Antonio knew who it was. He saw their crest on the gentleman's cane and it was confirmed; it was the Malfoys, old supporters of Voldemort and the Dark Arts.

"Ah, here you go Mr. Malfoy, try this. Hawthorn, 10", unicorn hair core." The wand reacted beautifully to the young Malfoy and the happy family paid Mr. Ollivander. Antonio went up to the father, "Mr. Lucius, my name is Antonio Sharp. My Father, Alek Sharp, has heard quite a lot about you and sends his regards." The man smiled, "Indeed? Well, it's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance. You teach at Durmstrang do you not? I believe I read about you when I considered sending my son there." Ollivander motioned for the two brothers, "And you are the youngest in the Sharp family are you?" They nodded, Ollivander straightened up, "Your names?"

Veritas spoke up, "I'm Veritas Sharp," and then Harry timidly said, "And I'm Harry Potter-Sharp." The Malfoys and Ollivander froze at this; the older man gaped. "As in **the** Harry Potter?" When Harry nodded, the man turned to Antonio, "He's your brother?" Nodding, Antonio explained, "Apparently Harry had been left with distant muggle relatives after You-Know-Who was blown up. Well, Veritas ran across Harry four years back, and they became good friends. His relatives didn't like wizards and did not mind when we asked to adopt him. Anyways, he's part of the family now," the black-haired young man said, smiling, and much to Harry's relief, leaving out the part where he was abused. Ollivander nodded, still stunned, "Well, let's get these boys their wands. Let's start with you, Mr. Veritas," he said running off. After a few trys they found it. "Ebony wood, 11 inches, Dragon Heartstring. A very good wand; your core is actually the brother of Antonio here."

This left the siblings chuckling and the shopkeeper moved onto Harry. "Now lets try this one," He said bringing one over. [_No, not that one_], said Schlange, moving down Harry's sleeve, shaking his head. "Really, Schlange? Sorry, sir," Harry said, to a very shocked shopkeeper. The Malfoys watched curiously. "Schlange is magically attuned to me as my familiar," Harry explained, "He knows which one will work and which one won't. Let him led you to it." Harry leaned down and let Schlange slither onto the floor. The snake quickly moved down the aisles with Ollivander following quickly behind.

Lucius turned to Antonio, "He has a snake as his familiar?" The blond man was puzzled. This was the Son of that blasted Potter, a _Griffindor_. But here was his son with a snake as his familar. A snake; if that damned Potter saw this headed probably be mortified. How this could have happened, whatever the reason was, he couldn't wrap his head around it. "Our Father got it for him," Antonio said, realizing what the Malfoy was thinking, "They took an immediate liking to each other." The Lord nodded, intrigued. This was an interesting development. He'd have to watch how the Potter- no, Potter-Sharp now- behaved. Things could turn out to be very interesting for a certain Headmaster if his golden child wasn't quite so perfect Saviour material.

His son, in the meantime, had walked over to the brothers. "Name's Draco," He said grinning at the two. He turned to Harry, "Beautiful snake you have there. What's his name?" Harry was a bit suprised at the praise, "Oh, uh, well thank you. His name is Schlange." Veritas was looking at Draco appraisingly. The Malfoy heir was a bit surprised. He had expected the Boy-Who-Lived, well, to be frank, an arrogant, stuck-up prick (even more than Draco) with a Hero complex. Instead, Harry seemed quite shy and timid, and not exactly "Hero" material.

His Brother, Veritas, on the other hand, was a different story. The blonde was eyeing Draco, looking him over, deciding what to think of him. The way he was doing so, with his two different colored eyes, was really a bit unnerving. If the two were going to Hogwarts, Draco was willingly to bet his Malfoy fortune that Veritas would be sorted into Slytherin. "So where are you guys going to school? Hogwarts, I assume?" He said to Veritas. The blonde's intense gaze went away and he was cheerful once again, "Yep. We got our letters today actually. We can't wait!"

"Here we go Mr. Potter-Sharp! Holly, phoenix feather, 11 inches!" said Ollivander, quickly coming back, Schlange slithering over to Harry. He bent down and let the snake slide up his sleeve before straightening and taking the wand. They all felt the rush, the rush of power that came from the boy when he took the wand. Any doubts Draco had about the boy being the actual defeater of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named were instantly dashed. The old shopkeeper was just standing there muttering, "Curious... most Curious..." Veritas looked at the man as Harry was busy looking at his wand. "Sorry sir, but... what's curious?"

The man looked at the blonde, "I remember every wand I've ever sold, Mr. Sharp. It so happens that the phoenix whose tailfeather resides in your brother's wand gave another feather... just one other. It is curious that you," he said turning to Harry, "Should be destined for this wand when its brother," he said, gesturing at Harry's forehead, "Gave you that scar." The room was dead quiet as the shopkeeper continued, saying to a shocked Harry, "The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter. It's... not always clear why. But I think it **is** clear that we can expect great things from you." He chuckled softly, "After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things. Terrible, Yes! But great."

Antonio paid him and bid the shopkeeper farewell, and the two families left, quiet from the revelation. The Malfoys were looking curiously at the boy and musing over everything they had found out; Antonio and Veritas were busy anxiously looking at a still quiet Harry, his snake trying to comfort him as Harry stard at the wand and box in his hands. The brother wand of the man that had tried to kill him.

"What's with all the long faces?" Father said walking up to them. He then saw the Malfoys, "Ah, you must be the esteemed Lord Lucius Malfoy. It's a pleasure to meet you in person." They shook hands and Lucius was probably about to say something except Dad's focus had shifted instantly back to his own family. "Alright what happened?" Veritas spoke up when Harry stayed silent, "His wand is the brother of You-Know-Who." Father suddenly understood; he crouched down in front of Harry, "You okay son?" Harry nodded, though it was fairly obvious that he was _not_ okay. Father pulled the boy into a hug, softly saying, "Listen Harry. He is gone. You killed him. He cannot harm you nor us. Even though your parents died, you have lived and we will not let him hurt you."

Harry nodded, head against his Dad's neck, "I know that Dad, it's just... it's just I miss them. I love you all but I can't help but wish they hadn't died. I want to have gotten to know them." A tear slid down Harry's cheek; his Father hugged him tighter. Alek knew what the boy was feeling. It still hurt Alek, no doubt about it, to hear this. After all, if his birth parents had survived Voldemort's attack then Alek would never had been able to adopt Harry. His heart selfishly felt like his son was rejecting him. But another part had compassion and knew better; after all, Alek knew what it was like to never know your parents and then to get adopted. It was only natural to want to have meet them. Especially when you knew they were murdered trying to protect you.

"I'm sorry, Son. It can't happen now. I'm sure you'll find out many things about the Potters while at school. Just remember; We are always here for you. If you ever want to talk about your parents or find out something about them, don't be afraid to ask. After all," He said pulling back, smiling, "You have a right to know."

...

Hope you all enjoyed this so far. Review and the like; A single review makes my day. It also alerts me if I didn't explain so fully. And speaking of thise types of reviews...

**ibterismith50 **brought up a good point about the "First Death" ceremony that I didn't really explain:

_ ...If he died did the [Horocrux] get removed?_

As I said, I forgot to explain this part so I just want to let everyone know. It's called the First Death and referenced as dying for two reasons; 1) People tend to go under physical changes, in some cases looking very different, becoming "new" people. 2) You come so close to dying, that you are referenced as dead till the Darkness heals you. You don't actually die; you just get so close it doesn't make sense to call it anything else. So (as we see in this chapter) Harry is still a Horocrux.

~FS

Next time: Our trip to Diagon Alley continues...


	4. Chapter 4: The Sharps and Diagon Alley 2

I don't own this. And if you don't know that...

~FS

...

Chapter 4: The Sharps and Diagon Alley Part 2

...Or The Best (for Harry) and Worse (for Albus) Christmas ever

...Or Dumbledore is confused

...

Father straightened up, "Let's get our minds off of this. It's no good to dwell on the past too much." As Harry nodded, Antonio leaned next to Dad and whispered, "It may not be the pass." Father looked quizzically at his eldest son, who continued, "I know you've sensed the spirit wandering around." The older man nodded, "I've felt it. I can't figure out who it is though. It's barely anchored to this world." "Harry's scar is reacting to it." Father's eyes widened, "Fuck, That's bad." He glanced at Harry, who Veritas was trying to cheer up. "Did you tell him?"

Antonio shook his head, "If he knows, it's because he figured it out himself." Father pinched the bridge if his nose, "Alright, we'll just have to watch out for him." Father looked up, realizing, "Where are the Malfoys?" "They politely excused themself while you were comforting Harry. And on a side note," Antonio looked at his Father, "Are YOU alright?" The man nodded, pushing any pain he felt away, "Yes I am. Now then," He said to the boys, "Let's go back and meet up with Rachael and Lucius."

Antonio's eyes widened, "Oh shit, I forgot about Lucius. I let that nutcase wander off!" Father looked sharply at Antonio, "Find him immediately. We can't let him get into trouble." Antonio nodded and ran off. Dad turned to the now over-hopeful looking brothers. Sighing, He raised an eyebrow, "What did you two cook up now?" "Can we get some ice cream?" They said in unison. Father shook his head, laughing and smiled, "Fine, I guess we can take a quick break and get some." Cheering, the two dragged Father over to a ice cream shop and picked out their favorites. They sat at the counter, looking out at Diagon Alley.

A minute or two later, Antonio marched a tied up Lucius into the place and sat him next to Father, who raised an eyebrow at the scene. Antonio scowled at his younger brother who was smiling manically, "He was about to try and blow up a cauldron that he had filled with a fear potion in a shop." Father's eyes narrowed, "Lucius. I'm not even going to ask why you would do this. Mainly because I know why you would. You are grounded for a month. Apparate home, go to your room so I can talk to you later." Lucius smirked, "Oh don't worry Father, I can't wait for it." He was then untied by Antonio and with a devish grin, he Apparated.

Both adults sighed, Father's head was in his hands, "It figures that the son that's a sadist and is mentally ill is a freakin' masochist. I have to take so much effort just to punish him." Veritas and Harry looked at each other. They didn't know that their brother enjoyed pain as much as he enjoyed dishing it out. No wonder their attempts at payback never worked. Harry shrugged and went happily back to devouring his ice cream. Veritas watched; his little brother absolutely adored sweets. The blonde figured it was do to never being allowed them before coming to their house. Veritas didn't really want to think about his brother's abusive relatives; in fact, he didn't really even care about them at all. The bliss on his younger brother's face made buying it for him all worthwhile.

"What House do you all want to be in?" Antonio asked curiously. Harry shrugged, and kept eating for a moment before saying, "I don't konw. I'll probably just ask to be in whichever one Brother is in." Veritas' heart leapt at those words but he quickly asked, "You sure? I mean, I want you to be with me, but surely you have some idea?" Harry tilted his head thinking. "Well, Griffindor sounds nice. They seem like they'd be good friends and willing to stand by you. Then again," he said, taking another bite of ice cream, "Brother is the best friend I can think of and the Lions are all focused on the whole "Light is Good, Dark is Evil." So that's be annoying." Veritas nodded along with Antonio and Father. [_I'd doubt they'd take kindly to the fact I'm your familar._] muttered Schlange. Harry nodded and translated for the others who agreed as well.

"Ravenclaw is all about studying and being smart. While I manage good grades, I doubt that's all I'd want to do." Veritas snorted a bit at the "manage good grades" part. In the same way Veritas was a natural and prodigy in combat and martial arts, as well as Sculpting and Forging interestingly, Harry was bloody brilliant with Potions and Charms. Father said the brunet probably had inherited those skills from his mother, who he heard was extremely skilled in both magics. This was in addition to his genius level IQ, ability to easily master "muggle" (math, writing, etc) subjects, and brilliant strategizing abilities. Veritas doubted even the brainiest Ravennclaw could outperform him.

Harry continued after attacking his ice cream again, "Hufflepuff sounds nice with its loyalty mantra, but all Houses have that in some amount. Slytherin is cunning and all that, and they care about the Darkness. But I've heard quite a few are stuck up, conceited jerks that enjoy hurting people. Kind of like Lucius, just not actually insane," he said, making a face at his mention of his brother. Veritas nodded, thoughtful, "Draco didn't seem too bad." Antonio chuckled; the brothers turned to look at him. "His parents were a few feet away and he was talking to the legendary "Boy-Who-Lived". Of course he'd be polite. Wait till he's at Hogwarts and then see how he acts."

Once they finished, they went out onto the street and found Rachael. The boys gasped as she approached them, grinning. She had two large birds with her in cages; One was a snowy white owl who was looking about while the other was a jet black hawk. "Merry Christmas boys!" She said, giving the owl to Harry and the Hawk to Veritas. Father raised an eyebrow at the Hawk. "I thought they were supposed to have owls?" Rachael waved that aside, "There's no specific rule or law. It's just normally only owls are smart enough to be trained. And wizards don't like change, so it's not really embraced. And I knew Veritas would adore this guy!" Harry looked enviously at the Hawk as she said that. Rachael leaned next to his ear and whispered, "I didn't forget about you. Don't tell Veritas; that bird is almost as smart as a familiar. She'll out perform that hawk every time."

Harry grinned widely at the large bird. Schlange slithered up to the brunet's ear, hissing a bit, [_This wouldn't be my replacement, would it?_] Harry smiled a bit guiltily, [_I hadn't meant that. She's just really beautiful; it's not like she's a familiar or anything._] Schlange laughed a bit, [_I know, I'm just giving you a hard time. Just remember who's your familiar._] Harry rolled his eyes at this, [_Not that you'd let me forget anytime soon._] Schlange nodded at the white owl watching them, [_What are you going to name her?_] Harry looked curiously at the bird, "Hadn't thought about that... I'll name her... um... Hedwig!" Veritas nodded, thinking about the same thing, "I think I'll name my hawk... Ares!"

Harry raised an eyebrow at the name, "Wow, uncreative much?" Veritas rolled his eyes. "Whatever little bro; Ares is still cooler than Hedwig." The hawk happily squawked making Veritas smile, "See! He agreed with me!" Harry could have swore that he saw Hedwig roll her eyes at this, even as Schlange chuckled next to his ear, [_The jury has decided. That bird is an idiot._] Harry tried to restrain his laughter. Everyone else was chuckling at the exchange before Father, smiling, put a hand on each of their shoulders, "Boys, boys, they're both great birds. Now, we need to head home." Harry happily agreed; this was the best Christmas ever!

Meanwhile, in Hogwarts...

Dumbledore hummed to himself as he walked towards the Great Hall. This would be a glorious year. The Wizarding World's Saviour would return and he could mold the young boy into the perfect man to take on Tom. It really had his spirits soaring! "It's so wonderful, I'm even using that charismatic crap I say to myself!" Albus said and chuckled. If only the students could see him now; they would no doubt want to send him off to St. Mugo's for mental insanity. As he entered the Hall, a large black owl flew in. Looking curiously at the large bird, he took the note that it carried. It took off and quickly left, as if it did not want to be anywhere near the Headmaster. Albus raised an eyebrow. The envelope was high end and the seal made of black wax, depicted a Phoenix rising out of flames. He was unaware of the family that has such a seal, so he carefully opened it. Tom could have gotten Foreign wizards to send him a "suprise". In it was a note that Albus sat down and read.

To Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts;

Greetings. My sons received their letters today and I am pleased, thourghly pleased. Harry and Veritas were also extremely excited. I will visit you soon to discuss things in detail as my son is the well known Harry Potter-Sharp and I wish only the safest of conditions for my sons. I had planned on sending them to Durmstrang like the rest of my family, but at the recieval of your school's invitation, I decided it was best to send the to your illustrious school. As he is the hero of the British Wizarding Community, it seemed only proper to send him to you.

We will talk later in person. What time would be appropriate for you?

Thank you for your cooperation,

_Alek L. Sharp_

Head of The Ancient and Noble House of Sharp

CEO of Sharp Industries

Director of the Swiss Magical Education Department. **(1)**

The lemon drop in the Headmaster's mouth fell out as it hung wide open. Who was this person claiming to be Harry's father?! Harry Potter-Sharp; what in the world had happened? Dumbledore was under the impression he was still at the Dursleys, being, ah-hem, "toughened up". It was, of course, crucial that Harry saw Albus as the boy's own personal "Savior". The man was, after all, running the school that allowed him to escape his relatives; and with Albus being like a grandfather to him, he'd firmly gain Harry's complete trust. That was the only way the boy would willingly and unquestionly follow his orders and the "Hero-complex" Dumbledore would slowly develop. That drive to save everyone would make the boy their best bet to stop Tom once and for all.

Fingers drumming on the desk, he quickly called for Hagrid. It'd be the best really. He could ask Snape, but the man would hate his preparation time being interrupted, and he'd likely take it out on the very Muggles they needed the information from. Plus, the half-giant really did care for Harry and would happily find out what had happened to the boy. In addition to that, the groundskeeper's physically massive physique would probably intimidate that fool Vernon more that the cold and sneering Snape. Many students would disagree, but to a mere Muggle that was paranoid of anything odd, an eight foot man like Hagrid with his magic umbrella would be more than enough to do the trick.

Albus turned his attention back to the letter; specifically the signature. Alek L. Sharp. Where had he heard that name before? It sounded extraordinarily familiar, but he couldn't place it. Obviously the man was the President of the SMED; however, that must have been very recent, as he hadn't heard that yet. Then again, he didn't really pay attention to Switzerland, since it was always nuetral. Still, that name, "Sharp", seemed familar. He made a mental note to look it up on the way back to his office. He quickly Summoned a quill and ink and wrote a small letter back to this mysterious Mr. Sharp. Calling an owl, the man sent it off. Hopefully, he'd have answers soon. The Headmaster needed some answers before he could adjust his plans to take this into account. Whatever "this" turned out to be. The man sighed; This may have just turned into the worst Christmas ever.

Back in the Sharp Manor...

The boys chased each other happily, Veritas having grabbed Harry's Chocolate Frog and was playing keep away with a laughing Harry. The others watched amusedly. Father turned to Antonio, "Look after them for a few minutes. I'll be back. I need to go ask a favor of a friend." His eldest son nodded, happy to be in charge (for once) of two cheery and definitely not insane pre-teens unlike a certain blond that he had to watch over at Durmstrang. Antonio shivered; the messes that mad brother of his made. This past Halloween at the school was the worst yet. Rachael turned to head to her room, "I'll go write and submit my application to work at Hogwarts. I'll use my original surname so Dumbledore doesn't get suspicious." Like Harry, Rachael had been adopted by Alek. Her family, the Simmons, were a Wizarding family from the United States that had become good friends with the Sharps when they immigrated to Switzerland, where the Sharps' Manor is.

Rachael's family had been caught in an attack at the time just before the War. They had been on vacation in the UK when it had happened. There were no clues on the identities of the killers; Could have been Death Eaters, Werewolves, Vampires, or any of the large number of creatures that roam the world. Her mother, father, and brother who was a couple years older than her, had been killed. She had been young at the time; 6 or 7, about the same age as Harry when he had joined their family actually. She had taken a few years to open up; it had helped that it had been in the early summer when Antonio was around. He was her new older brother, though not necessarily a replacement for her birth brother. Still, Antonio helped fill the void she had found in herself after her family's deaths.

Alek smiled at his kids and then walked upstairs to his bedroom. Large and spacious, the room was inviting and open, yet still formal in appereance. Lying down on his large bed, he closed his eyes and disconnected his spirit from his body and went to another plane of reality, the Spritual plane. The man walked down the road of crystallized blood, pass the fields of black colored crops standing still in the breezeless air. He stopped in front of a dilapidated manor, smiling. Alek had to had it to the kid; no matter how many times he moved, Alek's friend always managed to find a exceptionally Dark looking property. He walked up to it and rang the bell. A hooded and silent figure opened the door. Nodding to each other, having seen each other quite a bit, the hooded butler let him in and pointed up at the study, indicating were his master was. Alek walked through a magnificent mansion, and to most people's suprise, not at all deteriorated on the inside, bright and, if not for the hooded butler, rather cheerful.

He knocked and heard a voice float out, welcoming him in. Alek opened the door and went in. There behind his desk, sat a young man, a teen by his looks. Black hair was combed back today. Normally the boy didn't care enough to comb it and let it hang, covering his eyebrows and the tops of his ears. His right eye glowed, completely black save for three red rings, one set inside another, that were inside it. It was the boy's Rank, the sign that he had accomplished the impossible; he had cheated Death. Alek smiled, and the boy smiled back, "Hello Ashe, how are you?" The teen stood up and walked over and shook his hand, "Excellent. I can see you are too; you don't look above 23." Which was true. Alek was in his forties in his normal form but was too vain to let his Avatar look anything older than that.

Ashe reached up and felt Alek's silky black hair, "You're just lucky that your powers allow you to change your Corporeal Form and Avatar's appearance." Every human has his Corporeal Form (his Physical Form) and his Avatar Form (his "Spiritual" Form). Most cannot change their look, especially their Corporeal form. The Darkness though changed that, as it healed a _Deti t'my _and let them live much longer than normal and gave them the ability shape their Avatar. Alek kept his physical body looking 40 or so as not to attract suspicion, but he felt much younger. That, at least, was his excuse for having his Avatar form look so young.

"Don't you mean you're lucky. You might not even want to look at me if I couldn't." Alek brushed a strand of hair that had fallen out of the teen's face. "And you can't talk. You look like a teen even though you were born how many centuries ago?" Ashe snorted, "Only a hundred and fifty seven years. The perks of being Transcended **(2)**, my friend." The boy sat on his desk, curiously looking at Alek, "So what do you need? You haven't visited in months," he said accusingly.

Alek sighed; he knew Ashe would be upset. The boy had no other friends in this world after all. He had to face the music. "I was busy! It's Christmas and I was preparing for my sons' Ceremonies. Speaking of which," he said slyly, knowing the perfect way to placate the dark haired boy's anger, "I have a present for you." Ashe's eyes lit up, turning to his only friend. Alek pulled out a ring like his own. Ashe raised an eyebrow at this, "Are you proposing?" Alek chuckled, "No, not yet," he teased, causing Ashe to blush, "I finally enchanted this ring correctly. With it, you can maintain your Corporeal Form again." Ashe gasped, gingerly taking it. He slipped it on, and smiled. When he had Transcended to the Spiritual plane as a young man, he had lost his body. To be able to have it back again...

A tear slid down his cheek. Damn it all, he hated crying. Ashe didn't want to admit it, but he was so lonely. He was one of the few Transcended, and the other were hermits... Or insane. Only Alek was able to be in both planes, and that was due to the Darkness. He was the only thing that kept the teen sane, giving his life new light after a sad, lonely hundred years of near complete isolation. If Alek hadn't stumbled across him when he had, Ashe might have gone insane himself. Now to be able to go between worlds, to Live again, it was a gift that surpassed his dreams. And then to receive it from Alek made it all the better. He smiled, happier than he had ever been, alive or dead. He hugged his only friend, so glad for the gift.

"Well", Ashe said backing up, "If it's Christmas, you need a present too ya know." Alek chuckled a bit, "I knew you wouldn't let me leave without giving me one." Ashe uncharacteristically giggled, "But of course. So any ideas?" Alek grinned, "Well, I think that having you in my world is good enough. Although I do need your help with something there." Ashe sighed dramatically, "Of course you don't want me there to just hang out," said the boy wistfully, longing just to spend a day with his only friend. "Don't worry, we can do whatever you want too," Alek said with a wink. Ashe blushed a bit at this. Damn; After a century and a half of isolation, he was a total submissive with his friend. He'd need to change that, Ashe thought to himself.

"Alright, let me make sure my stuff is ready and my house will be taken care of, then I can go. While I do that, tell me about your problem." Ashe said, quickly sorting through papers and preparing directions for his butler to do while he was gone. Ashe knew the hooded being would do it for as long as necessary. The wraith was bound to him in service after all. "Sure Ashe. You remember that Dark wizard I mentioned a couple times during my past visits...?"

...

NOTES: **(1) **SMED is my own creation; as there is no Magical Swiss governing body refrenced by J.K. Rowling. And, on a side note, the Sharps' have lived in Switzerland for decades, ever since the World Wars. Since the Swiss stay nuetral, it's the perfect place for the _Deti t'my _family to live.

**(2) **When I say "Cheated Death" I mean literally. Transcended individuals magically pass on, increasing their power immensely and gaining new abilities. Of course, none can go back, so it's kind of a waste. But, no one knows in the real world as none of the Transcended can go back! (Sucks for them, doesn't it?) You'll see Ashe's abilities in the future.

NEXT TIME: Dumbledore finds out what is going on (somewhat)...

Rachael gets a job and so does Ashe...

~FS


	5. Chapter 5: The Train Ride and Sorting

Disclaimer: I don't own this. There is a reason why this site called Fanfiction.

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Train Ride and Sorting**

* * *

Steam from the engine billowed over the platform, robes rustled, parents gave teary goodbyes to their eager children, who's heads were filled with dreams; the younger ones dreaming of fantastic magicks, amazing creatures, the massive castle, and the fabled buffet of the Great Hall, while the older ones looked forward to seeing friends again, advanced subjects and eagerly awaiting the chance to graduate and move into their respective desired careers. Alek sighed; he was never ready for these types of things. Ashe had been nice enough to agree to come with him to seeing his kids off. Sure, he was the All-Father of the _Deti t'my_, but he was still a father. Though he did do some things that Ashe teased him for being "motherly".

"Do you have everything?" Harry and Veritas rolled their eyes. "Yes Father." They said in unison, impatiently looking around the platform, eyes scanning about the crowd. Ashe chuckled next to Father, "You really don't need to be their mother Alek. I'm sure they're intelligent enough to pack their own bags." The boy's nodded their heads vigorously, eager to be allowed to mingle with their new peers. Father sighed, "I can't help it. They are my youngest children." Father smiled, "Alright you two. Go on before I start worrying again." Ashe giggled as the two rushed off in a flurry of smiles and excitement. "Your kids are so cute." Alek smiled at the two brothers running off happily together, joking about, "They are, aren't they?"

Alek froze and Ashe's eyes narrowed as a chill passed over both of them. "Do you feel it Ashe? Voldemort's spirit, it's here." Ashe nodded, lifting up his eyepatch, using his eye to scan the crowd. He scowled, unable to trace it. "It's hidden very well. Even my All Seeing Eye cannot find him." He turned to Alek, who looked ready to grab the boys, quieting him, "I'll go on the train and track him. I'll tell you what I find when I get to Hogwarts." Alek nodded, knowing that his best friend would never allow him to worry excessively, go with the boys, or take them back home with Alek. "Besides," Ashe said with a grin, "Rachael will be there too. We'll keep them safe."

Alek sighed, giving in, albeit unwillingly. "I know. I'm just concerned. That fool Dumbledore is there, and now there is a maniac that **I** can't find stalking about!" Ashe looked into the other's eyes, "That's what this is about isn't it? You can't find him. You aren't in control. You can't save them or the others here." Alek's head hung a bit, causing the teen to sigh. This was a continuous problem for his rescuer. "You aren't all powerful Alek. You may feel like you need to save everyone you can, but it doesn't work like that! They may be your children, and they are your responsiblity, but you can't do everything. That's why we're here Alek! Isn't that what you plan on telling Veritas and Harry if they ever feel this way?" Alek's head snapped up, about to protest but then deciding not to. After all, his friend was right. He was being a hypocrite, about something concerning his kids no less.

Ashe gave him a quick hug, "Don't worry. Moldie Shorts won't get near them." Alek smiled at the teen as Ashe quickly walked over to the train, melting into the crowd. Alek sighed once more, scanning the coaches for the smiling faces of his kids. Seeing them waving like there was no tomorrow from a window, he smiled and waved back. He felt a bit better with two of his family and friends watching out for his kids. He Apparated away, comforted slightly. Only slightly. If only that God damn Headmaster wasn't there. He still remembered his meeting with him months ago...

* * *

**A week after the trip to Diagon Alley...**

* * *

With a *Pop!*, Alek Apparated into Hogwarts. He looked around at the stately halls of the massive castle and rolled his eyes. Honestly, what was up with Wizards and really big castles? Although, to be fair, there aren't that many giant buildings that can house a Wizarding school. But that was off topic. Alek swept down the halls to the Handmaster's office, searching for it. Coming across the gargoyle, he used the Darkness to figure out the password. It was a unique skill that he alone possessed. Useful for dropping in on unsuspecting manipulative bastards like Dumbledore. "Hellfyre." An interesting choice Headmaster.

As he walked into the office, Dumbledore looked up from his desk in surprise, "Ah, hello there! Um, who do I have the pleasure of meeting?" Smirking, Alek pulled up a chair, and sat before answering, "My name is Alek Sharp, I assume you received my letter about my visit today?" Albus inwardly was seething. So this was the man that was turning everything upside-down for him and the War. And now, to add insult to injury, he had arrived early, catching the Headmaster by surprise and unprepared, somehow managing to get his passcode! Speaking of things that should have not happened... "Yes, of course, it's a pleasure, it was merely unexpected that you knew the password to my office."

The infuriating man gave Dumbledore an equally infuriating smirk that made the man's blood boil, "It was incredibly easy to guess. Perhaps you should try something more unusual?" Seething, Albus had made a mental note to do just that. Perhaps he'd use candies... Muggle candies... Focus Albus, he thought to himself, keeping his face jolly, "I didn't realize that my password choice was so obvious. I will remedy that as soon as possible." Alek had no doubt about that. "But, now to business. I have recently found out about your adoption of young Harry. Pray tell, why did you decide this was necessary?" Alek snorted, driving the older Headmaster's blood pressure up even more. "It was fairly obvious that it was necessary. He was being abused by his relatives. I mean, he nearly told us his name was 'Freak' when we first met from being called it for years! How was it not necessary?"

Albus cursed this man's... sympathetic spirit. This was exactly why he had made sure no one had any contact with the boy. Especially not Hagrid! That would have been a disaster. Dumbledore knew that the Dursleys treated the boy rough but it was necessary, critical even, for the molding of Harry. But most people, like this idiot, thought differently. Clearly, this young fool (at least young by Dumbledore's standards) believed he knew better. Honestly, the man seemed to be in his forties but that was decades younger than Albus. Albus was older and saw the big picture. He figured a man of Mr. Sharp's age would at least be mature enough to ask those in charge of this War before deciding to do something so drastic!

"Surely you thought that you should have contacted the Ministry or Myself about this before going through with your idea." Alek shrugged, nonchalantly, "The Ministry obviously didn't care about the state of the boy if they willingly let him stay in such a place. Either that or they did not know and just didn't care about the treatment of their Savior. And as for yourself," the man glared at the Headmaster, who kept his face a perfect symbol of understanding, yet authority, "The same logic applies. However, at the time I was not aware of your involvement in the case." Albus sighed, he had no good argument for this statement, "Yes, I should have been more clear about our intentions from the beginning. But now to more present business," the Headmaster said while Alek smirked, not missing Albus' smooth deflection of his accusation.

"You stated in your letter that you wanted to keep your boys safe. I can assure you that will be the case my friend." Alek leaned back in his chair, "Indeed; I do not doubt your abilities or... intentions Headmaster. However, my son will be a celebrity and this could be most distressing for him, as he is very shy around others due to the abuse," he said to Dumbledore, giving him a very pointed look which the older man chose to ignore. "I merely wish to know he will be treated no different from the other students in the school and that no one would try to dictate his choices in school." Internally, Albus groaned; this man seemed to be able to read his thoughts and plans. Oh well, if he had to promise the man that he wouldn't, Dumbledore supposed that he would. It didn't mean that he was going to keep his word on this occasion. Oh, no, he needed to mold the boy. For the greater good of course.

"Of course Mr. Sharp. We treat everyone equally here and we would never think of influencing a student to do anything they don't want to. Is that all you wanted to talk about Mr. Sharp?" Alek, knowing better than to trust the Headmaster's word, nodded and stood up, "That is all. I assume you contact me if there is anything you wish to discuss as I know I will be doing so. Good day."

* * *

**Back on the train...**

* * *

"I can't wait! This is going to be so much fun!" The hyper Harry said, bouncing excitedly up and down on the seat. Veritas smiled at his eager little brother, "I know, right? It will be so exciting. It's one thing to read or lightly practice a bit, but to spend a whole school year doing magic and other cool stuff!" The door opened, and to Veritas' dismay, Harry drew back into his shy shell. A blond haired boy was there, flanked by a couple, well, to put it simply, meatheads. Idiots. Etc. Veritas nodded to the Malfoy, "Greetings Draco. I trust you're doing well?" Draco smiled, and nodded, "Excellent, thank you. May we sit here?" Glancing over at Harry, who nodded, Veritas agreed. Harry moved over to the same side as Veritas as Draco and his cronies sat on the other side.

Draco motioned to his thuggish friends, "I nearly forgot to introduce my two friends. This is Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle." "Please call me Crabbe," said the one on his left, "Vincent is a terrible name." Goyle agreed, "Call me Goyle. As nice as Gregory is, Goyle is better." Draco smiled at the two across from them, "What House are you hoping for? I know I'm going to be in Slytherin, whole family has been there." The Crabbe and Goyle agreed. Veritas shrugged as Harry remained quiet, "We don't know really. We're the first of our family t go to Hogwarts; but after reading up on the houses I think they all have some positive attributes- except for Hufflepuff, of course." Everyone chuckled at this before Veritas continued, "Slytherin seems like the best but Father will support us no matter what House we go in."

Harry, quiet, thought he heard Draco mutter, "I wish mine would too..." His eyebrow went up a little bit; was Malfoy having Daddy issues? That was certainly an interesting tidbit to keep for later. At that moment, the door opened, and a redhead and a couple boys flanking him appeared, "So it's true?" Harry shied behind his older brother as he felt the redhead's eyes glued to his scar. "You're the famous Harry Potter?" Seeing the blonde sitting next to the Boy-Who-Lived, he turned to him, "And you are...?" The older brother looked coldly at the redhead, "Veritas."

The two boys flanking the boy snickered a bit. Draco's eyes turned fiery, "Think his name's funny, do you?" He looked the leader of the trio over, "No need to ask who you are. My Father told me all the Weasleys have red hair, freckles, and more children than they can afford." The Weasley reddened, if possible, even more at this comment, and the two behind them became angry. Harry whimpered quietly, only Veritas noticing. The blonde was up, pushing the redhead back as soon as he made a move towards Draco, "Draco that was uncalled for. However, unless you three want to do something besides gawk over me and Harry's scar, please leave. Now." Veritas said firmly, causing an irritated Weasley and his cronies to stalk off.

"You okay?" Veritas whispered to Harry as he sat down. Harry nodded, silently thanking his brother. Veritas nodded back, aware that conflict like that still made his younger brother uneasy. That God damned abuse never seemed to stop rearing it's ugly head. Draco watched the silent exchange curiously before Veritas turned to the blond, "What was the name of that bastard?" "A Weasley. A pureblood family, though you'd never know it by the way they act." Veritas raised an eyebrow, "Is there a problem with muggles? I know quite a few are extremely intelligent." Draco shrugged, "I have nothing against the _intelligent_ ones. But still... encouraging us to intermarry with them? How are we to stay identifiably Malfoys, even Weasleys if you are cursed with being one?"

Veritas nodded, agreeing, "True. But marrying a second or third generation mudblood wouldn't be so bad. Not optimal, but at they rate things are going, we're going to make ourselves extinct unless we have more kids or unless we intermarry. That's part of the reason way our Father decided on such a large family- 5 kids in total. Of course, he wanted to have that many and loves each of us, but he's realized the population problem we have. I mean, you die Draco and there's no heir left. If your parents then died before they had another kid, the Malfoy line would be over. It's really quite sad that we've let it get this bad." Draco conceded the point and the topic of the conversation turned to other subjects.

As they talked, Harry grew more and more comfortable around the group and began to come out of his shell a bit. There was a lapse when Blaise Zabini came in but to the delight of his older brother, the raven was opening up to the others in the room. It was not too long before the announcement that they'd be arriving soon reached them and they got ready to leave. They had by this point become good friends, staying together as they were herded towards boats by the half-giant. Draco mumbled something about him being a savage but other than that they all quietly made for the boats.

They marveled at Hogwarts when they came around the bay. The castle was enormous, lit up with fire and all manner of lights a wizard would use. They landed and the Deputy Headmistress herded them in front of the Great Hall. Where they were promptly told to wait. Suddenly, Harry frantically tugged on Veritas' sleeve and got his older brother's attention. "They're going to call my name first." Veritas' eyes widened as he realized that fact. He knew the issue. Harry only wanted to be with his brother. But if the burnet went first, that could be ruined for them. "You'll just have to tell the Sorting Hat that. You're not brave enough for Gryffindor so worst case scenario, your brains get you into Ravenclaw. Which is fine little bro, but I won't get put in there. I'm not smart enough and I'm cunning to a degree. If we want to stick together, we'll need to get into Slytherin. Try and use our bloodline to back up your claim." Harry nodded, nervous.

The redhead from earlier walked up to their group. The others got ready for a confrontation, "I didn't properly introduce myself," he said. "My name is Ronald Weasley, you can call me Ron. I say that you were hanging out with those snakes over there. Don't know why, with their parents having all supported You-Know-Who who... well, you know. You'll soon find out that some Wizarding Families are much better than others Harry. I can help you there, you don't want to be hangin' around the wrong sort. We're all part of the Light after all," Ron said extending his hand.

Veritas watched his little brother curiously. Harry made up his mind, "Thanks, but no thanks. Light does not make right. And from what I've seen, I think I know who's the better family." The others shared grins as Ron sputtered in shock and his two lackeys looked in surprise at Harry. Ron looked like he was about to protest, but a cold glare from Veritas sent him scurrying off. A moment later, Professor McGonagall appeared, "We're ready for you now."

The first years were led into the Greta Hall, massive vaulted ceiling turning into the night sky, twinkling with stars, the moon slowly rising up, complete with the occasional shooting star flying overhead. They heard a girl in front of them mutter to someone, "It's not real, the ceiling. It's just bewitched to look like the night sky. I read about it in Hogwarts: A History." They grinned at each other: definitely a Ravenclaw and most likely a Mudblood. They were marched down between the tables, past the other students.

They stopped in front of the main table, where the Headmaster stood up and addressed the students. They all looked at each other, some curious, other afraid, when Dumbledore mentioned the "painful death" that awaited those who dared to venture up to the third floor. Harry looked at Veritas quizzically, who shrugged. The blonde knew his little brother wasn't asking about what was there; if anyone would have read about it, Harry would've. No, the brunette was curious as to why the Headmaster would make an announcement that would make people curious. Veritas had no answer.

The then brought out a hat that started moving and sang a song. The gang heard a few gasps from those unprepared for it. Then McGonagall called up the first years. "Vincent Crabbe!" The boy muttered about how he hated that name as he went up, "SLYTHERIN!" the hat promptly yelled. "Hermione Granger!" The witch from earlier nervously walked up, causing Weasley to mutter to a friend, "Mental that one." "GRYFFINDOR!" The hat yelled out after a few moments. With a sigh of relief, she went over to the Lions' table. They went through a other; Goyle went to Slytherin as well.

"Draco Malfoy!" The blond went up and the Hat went on his head. It took a bit longer than most expected, before, "RAVENCLAW!" The gang was startled as a even paler Draco went over to the Ravenclaw table. Harry and Veritas were surprised; Blaise leaned over and whispered, "It's not too suprising. Did you notice anything about hm on the train ride?" Harry nodded, "He seemed much smarter than he was letting on." Blaise nodded, "Draco is a genius. He has to hide it, and he does it rather well, but the Hat judges your abilities, not your acting."

"We'll just have to support him." Harry said firmly. At Veritas' look he continued, "I heard Draco mutter something earlier. I get the impression his dad is not going to be very happen about Draco' Sorting." Veritas nodded, understanding.

"Harry Potter-Sharp!" The halls quieted as Harry went up and the Hat went down. _Hmmm, interesting. So you are a Deti t'my. Very good Slytherin material. Hmmm, not very brave except when your brother is around, and even then you're shy. Certainly not Gryffindor. Very loyal, yes, but incredibly smart too. Almost as smart as that last boy. You'd do well in Ravenclaw._ Harry thought back, _Slytherin. My brother will not make it into Ravenclaw, and I want to stay with him._ The hat mentally sighed, _He won't be around forever. You'll need to stand on your own someday. But if you insist so strongly..._

"Better be... SLYTHERIN!" The Hall was a stunned quiet except for the clapping from the Slytherin table. Snape was amused at that old fool's face. It looked like someone had gone up and smacked Albus with a frying pan. He looked at the boy walking over to the table, sitting next to his friends he walked in with. The boy did not look too much like James or Lily much at all. His hair was darker, more under control, he was shy, but his eyes... Snape barely kept his face from showing any emotion when the boy looked at him. His eyes looked just like Lily's. He forced himself not to start reminiscing. Damn, this would be a hard year.

* * *

Unexpected? Anyways, I have a question for you loyal readers. Who do you think Draco should be paired with, if at all? I am undecided and will greatly appreciate any ideas you have.

Any ideas you give me in a review (be it about this or any thing else) are greatly appreciated. One reviewer helped me decide the course of this chapter, believe it or not! Anyways, any help is happily accepted.

Next time: Albus' head is reeling from the Sorting,

Snap is unsure about our heroes,

and Draco suffers the wrath of Mr. Malfoy

~FS


	6. Chapter 6: Davis, Draco, and Nico

Hey guys! Hope you guys have had a good time! Anyways, this chapter has a bit off ridiculousness, some sadness, and some mystery (not much but some). Enjoy!

~FS

Disclaimer: I still don't own this.

* * *

**Chapter 6: Davis, Draco, and Nico**

* * *

"Well it seems that went as well as possible," Alek remarked. Ashe smirked, stirring his tea, "Besides the fact that old Dumbles is more pissed off than when Antonio found out that Lucius had filled the dorms of Durmstrang with laughing gas?" Alek laughed, agreeing, "That was an interesting night." Alek sighed, unconsciously putting an arm around Ashe as he stared into the fireplace. Ashe smiled a bit and moved closer, enjoying the embrace as Alek mused, "What am I to do Ashe? Between Albus and a returning Dark Lord, the kids are in some much danger. I can't stay there with them, I have too much to do." Ashe closed his eyes, saying softly, "Rachael is there. I'll go there too, hiding in the castle. We'll keep them safe. Now sit here and relax. Enjoy the night."

Alek smiled weakly, looking down at the teen snuggled into him, "I guess I am worrying too much. Everything should be fine with you guys there. I'll keep an eye on them from a distance." Ashe nodded a bit, enjoying himself, "Now, do you want to play a game?" Alek rolled his eyes, "Knowing you, it's to get my clothes off." "How'd you guess?" Ashe said teasingly, "Although it'd be better if you put yourself into your young form. Much better than this old man." Chuckling, the "old man" shifted his form to be 20 years younger, "Better Ashe?" "Much Better; now I can look at you." Smirking, Alek looked into the fireplace, "I wonder what the kids are doing?"

* * *

**Back at Hogwarts...**

* * *

They Slytherins were being quickly led down into the dungeon, "Alright you lot, keep up! Don't want you getting lost." When they arrived at a random section of blank wall, the perfect spun on his heel and grinned, "Alright you idiots, listen up! We Slytherins enter out dorm through here, like this," the boy said, turning to the wall. Harry and Veritas suddenly noticed the gargoyle jutting out from the wall. They were at varying different points in the hall, but the Perfect pointed his wand at the one in front of them, "Lumos!" The gargoyle's eyes light up, casting yellow light over them . But nothing else happened, and first years looked at each other in confusion. This guy did know how to get into their dorm, right?

The grinning perfect laughed at them, "Did you think that had anything to do with it? Don't be ridiculous, only a Hufflepuff would have such a ridiculous system!" The perfect began tapping seemingly random bricks and like the wall in Diagon Alley, the bricks drew back and revealed the Slytherin Dorms. The first years whispered eagerly, "Now the sequence changes every week, so you need to make sure to find it out. Welcome to Slytherin boys!" They all went in and were directed by a girl -another perfect- to sit down. "Hello everyone, My name is Mitzerella, or, as you must call me if you don't want to get hurt, Mitzy." "Or Mittens," the blond haired perfect from earlier added grinning.

"Shut it!" The girl said glaring daggers at the overly happy perfect. Everyone quickly understood NOT to get on her bad side. "You've all met our resident flamboyant nutcase, Davis." The boy looked offended, "Now Mittens [Its Mitzy!], you're just going to scare them. I'm not that crazy or all that flamboyant at all." The girl's right eye twitched at being interrupted from her speech, "Oh? Fourth year you had pink hair and I'm pretty sure you said you were gay." The first years exchanged glances, as the blond sputtered, "That was a dare, Fluffy Mitts! A DARE! You can hardly hold that against me, after all, need I remind you about fifth year second semester?"

The Harry and Veritas shared an amused look as the girl blushed a bit, "I-If you DARE, I will skin you alive and stick you in a barrel of vinegar!" Blaise raised his hand, which the girl, gratefully, responded to, "Yes, your question?" "Is that guy really a perfect?" Everyone burst into laughter as the boy threw his hands in the air and left. The girl grinned at the dark boy, "Thank you for that. Now as you just witnessed, even in Slytherin, we have arguments and don't necessarily like each other. However, that said, we are at war with Gryffindor, wary of Hufflepuff, and friends only with Ravenclaw. As such, we cannot show any weakness. All conflict stops at the exit. We stand by each other against the world."

And with that, Schlange slithered into the room, scarring the crap out of a couple first years and causing the Perfect to scream. The snake slithered over to Harry, who laid his hand on the ground, allowing Schlange to slither up and around Harry's shoulders. [_What took you so long boss?_] Harry grinned sheepishly as Davis bounded back into the room, "I'm sorry, I thought I heard ol' Mitz scream like a little girl. Oh wait," he said mischievously, "You are." "Nothing to be such an ass about," muttered Mitzy, "I was just... startled, by a snake." She said, glaring at everyone, daring them to contradict her.

Davis was cracking up, "Dear Lord woman, excuse me, I have to go cry from laughing so hard about a Slytherin being scared by a snake!" The blond quickly disappeared, as the brown-haired girl glared at the silently laughing first-years, "Alright, off to your rooms you idiots." The all quickly got up and left, lest they fall to her wrath. The gang quickly ran to their rooms, finding them to be in pairs. Harry and Veritas got one room, to their relief, Crabbe and Goyle were put in the same room, to no one's surprise, while Blaise (the lucky bastard) got his own room as there were an odd number of boys.

They all said goodnight to each other and went to their respective rooms. The two brothers set about unpacked, as Schlange coiled up and got a head start on his sleep. Once the brothers finished, they stayed up for a while, talking excitedly, wondering what the year had in store for them. "I wonder how Draco is doing?" Harry asked abruptly. Veritas shrugged, "I guess that we'll find out tomorrow. Though we should probably get some sleep." "You're right Brother; good-night." "Good-night Harry."

It was quiet for a few minutes before a tentative voice called out, "Hey Big Bro?" Veritas grumbled, "What Harry?" Silence for a moment, "Do you think Dad's doing alright." "Yes Harry, I'm sure Ashe won't let Dad worry too much. Goodnight Harry."

It was silent for another few minutes. "...Veritas?"

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

"Hey, are you friends with the first-year, ummm, Malfoy? Draco Malfoy?" The gang looked at the Ravenclaw third-year at Breakfast. They nodded, "Yes Why?" The Ravenclaw grimaced, "He had a... rough night last night." Clearly not wanting to say more, "I think his friends could provide better support than we can since we just met him." Everyone glanced at each other, Harry suspicious about the reason Draco was in such a state. They nodded to the nevrous Ravenclaw boy, "Where is he?" The Ravenclaw led to the library and pointed them over to the table where the new Ravenclaw was sitting.

Draco was a mess, his hair not gelled completely, uniform in disarray, eyes red and puffy from crying. As they walked over they could hear him sniffling, and they could see his tear stained cheeks. Harry sat opposite of Draco, Veritas next to him, Blaise next to Draco, Crabbe and Goyle filling in the other two spots. Draco barely acknowledged them. They waited a moment, before Blaise started, "Draco, what the hell happened?" Draco angrily glared at him, "Leave me alone, you insufferable snake."

Everyone but Harry was surprised about this. He gently grabbed Draco's chin and turned the shaking boy to face him, "What did he do Draco?" The others looked at each other confused, but Draco understood what he meant and started explaining, lip quivering, "Harry, Harry, he-he, he..." Draco was on the verge of breaking down again, "He **disowned** me, **disinherited** me!" The boy wailed in anguish, "He t-tossed me aside like-like-like trash." They watched sadly as the ex-Malfoy heir broke down again. Blaise hugged Draco, who cried into his shoulder, "Hush, Draco, it's okay, calm down."

The others felt helpless as the boy continued to sob, "He said- he said I wasn't-wa-wasn't **worthy** to be called a Malfoy. He told me wasn't my father- my dad doesn't care about me!" Everyone felt their anger raising as the blond kept on, wallowing in sorrow; they wanted to kill that man, at least Blaise did. He knew how much his Father meant to Draco. Harry and Veritas couldn't believe the man, how could a parent be so cruel and heartless. Veritas turned to Crabbe and Goyle, "Go get the Headmaster. Do not tell **anyone** else what has happened here." The two nodded and strode off. Veritas glumly turned to the teen shaking in Blaise's arms. He hoped the Headmaster would have some idea about what to do.

* * *

**In Dumbledore's office...**

* * *

Snape was pacing, "I cannot believe he would do something like this Albus!" The Proffesor raged, as the sympathetic Albus's eyes twinkled. This was turning into an interesting day indeed. "He has blasted the boy off the tree! Disowned him, Disinherited him! Draco Malfoy doesn't exist in their eyes!" Snape collapsed into a chair, head spinning, "Why, why, why? He was strict, cruel even, but for Lucius to do this..." Dumbledore nodded understandingly, "It is probably for the best, old friend."

The Potions Master gaped at him, as Albus held up a hand. His eyes were twinkling at full output, "The boy's father is obviously a cruel and heartless person, hardened by serving the Dark Lord more faithfully than anyone else. It is better that he is away from that man than have to endure his evil and suffer through, no doubt, the man's manipulations to bring him to the Death Eater's cause." The old Headmaster silently thinking that was the true victory here; a possibly useful individual out of Death Eater influence.

Snape thought about that. It was depressing, but true. The evil that could have been planted in Draco... It made the spy shudder. But still, "The man's praise and affection meant more to Draco than anything else. I hate to see the state he's in!" The Headmaster sighed, agreeing with the Professor, "The relationship between Father and Son is most precious. However, this only reinforces that this is a blessing in disguise. After all, if he were so eager for his Father's approval, who knows what Lucius could have gotten him to do!"

Snape glumly agreed. "I just wish I knew where that boy was." There came a knock and Albus admitted two young Slytherins. "Headmaster sir, can you hurry and come with us?" Albus head tilted, curious, "What's the matter boys?" The two boys looked at each other before turning back to the principal, "It's Draco sir. He needs help." Snape practically launched himself at the boys, "Where is he?" The color from their faces drained. They had never been on the receiving end of a Snape Death Glare before.

"Harry, Veritas, and Blaise are with him in the library comforting him," Goyle barely managed to articulate. The Pofessor was then gone, moving faster than anyone they had seen, robes billowing, somehow still managing his evil and terrible style to make himself not look stupid while running. It was quite a frightening sight for the two young Slytherins. All the while, an ecstatic Albus was mentally doing a jig.

It was perfect! The most likely person to become a Death Eater and led his house astray was no longer under any of Tom's influence, his spy was now even more loyally against the Death Eaters; if he had heard right, Harry and his Slytherin brother were comforting him, meaning that they now knew just what people like Lucius were like! All his biggest concerns for the future were naturally all heading in the direction Albus wanted, all because Lucius got his Noble robes in a twist! Ah, the joys of when your opponents did the hard work for you!

* * *

**Back at the Library...**

* * *

Snape came in, a flurry of robes. Harry and Veritas looked up at him, worried for their friend, while Blaise kept holding the trembling and sobbing young boy. Snape locked eyes with Harry for a moment, again surprised at how much his eyes reminded him of Lily. Not wanting to have to worry about having to deal with the enigma that his feelings were becoming, the cynical Professor focused on Veritas, "How is Draco?" Veritas looked at him incredulously, "Well considering that the most important person to him just disowned him, he's taking it rather well." Snape frowned at the sarcasm, but momentarily let it slide to focus on Draco. "Draco, are you okay?"

The blond sniffled, "How can I be okay? My Father disowned me! He said I was trash to him, never to step in his Manor again. My own Father!" the boy wailed in sorrow. Blaise looked up at the angry Professor, "Sir, where will Draco go? Will he be okay?" Snape nodded, "I am his Godfather. He will come live with me." They were surprised at this little tidbit of information, but nodded. They didn't know what it'd be like to have Snape as a guardian. Hopefully, he'd be able to help Draco. "Can I leave him with you? I need to go... Deal with a certain Lord. Please take him to class or the infirmary. I can't let all of you skip your first class unfortunately."

They nodded, understanding what he meant. Blaise looked sadly at Draco, "I'm going to kill Mr. Malfoy if Professor Snape doesn't do it first." The brothers nodded, agreeing. They couldn't understand at all. Harry had been abused, that was true, but he never had to deal with this. He couldn't imagine what it would be like if his Father disowned him. It was a terrible thing to do. The only silver-lining was that Draco was away from that God damned bastard.

They helped the crying Draco up and quickly sneaked him over to the infirmary, explaining the situation to Madame Pomferey. She understood and quickly gave him a Calming Potion, with a shake of her head at what she heard. She didn't care for those pureblood aristocrats, and this merely added onto the already growing list. Blaise escorted Draco back to his dorm, asking the others to grab his books for him. They agreed and split off. Harry and Veritas made a mental note to talk to Rachael about this.

* * *

**Mean-while, at the Sharp Manor...**

* * *

Alek grimaced as he slipped his wine. He had received the paper today, and it confirmed what his sources had already told him. It ran the Headline...

**17 MURDERED IN VAMPIRE ATTACK!**

**GOVERNMENT CALLS FOR MORE REGULATION!**

_by Rita Skeeter_

_In a terrifying assault by Vampires on a muggle village recently, 17 people died, 3 of them wizards. The attack was sudden and unexpected, catching our people unawares. I, being the diligent reporter I am, went and surveyed the site myself and can say that the devastation was heart-strickening. Large sections of the muggles' village was burning, craters with dead bodies and ash nearby testified to not only the skill of our wizards, but also to the immense power the Vampires hold. _

_Heavy Restrictions have been placed on them in the past, but apparently, these are not enough to keep a rampaging Vampire at bay. The Ministry does not have numbers yet, but the tell me it was a coordinated attack, designed to catch the people unawares. I wonder myself dear readers, if such a devastating attack can happen without warning, who will be next? Will it be myself, my neighbors, my friends? I, Rita Skeeter, can say without a shadow of a doubt that I plan on writing the Ministry to let them know they have my full support, and I believe that it is each of our duties to ourselves and our children to make sure this terrible creatures are kept at bay._

_For more on the attack go to page 5_

_For more on current Vampire laws, page 12_

Alek wanted to straight up murder that Rita Skeeter. He had been personally contacted by the Head of the European Vampiric Clans (E.V.C.), Nico Van Hellsing. That man's story was an interesting one really. _But that doesn't matter at the moment_, thought Alek, getting back on track. The man called him to make sure he knew that the attack was not sanctioned by the EVC, or even known about till a few hours before he had called. Apparently, there were rumors circulating of a group calling themselves the "Todesser" or Death Eaters. Supposedly, they were behind this.

But the British wouldn't care if the Death Eaters were causing this, he thought bitterly. Vampires were greatly feared there, and anything like this would cause their corrupt and racist Ministry to freak out. He could already see the laws those parasites were making at that very moment. Alek walked over to the phone, dialing Nico's number. "Hello Nico, it's Alek. We need to talk."

* * *

Hope you guys don't hate me for that one with Draco! Speaking of him, I have a poll up on my profile that I will leave up until I feel like I have a conclusive vote, or until I make up my mind. It is about who you guys want Draco paired with. So please, if it's still up, go over and let me know your opinion!

Till next time...

~FS


	7. Chapter 7: Potions and Dark Counsels

**Here we go! Finally! Sorry, this is a shorter chapter, but I have had the worst time trying to write. I suffered writer's block for a week (THAT was really annoying), Schoolwork has been making it even harder, and now I'm on vacation in Oregon! I finally got it to a decent length, but I think writer's block is trying to settle in again, so sorry if it isn't longer! Review and give me your ideas! Might help me fend it off so I can actually make the next chapter longer...**

**Disclaimer: If you still think I own this, You. Are. An. Idiot.**

* * *

**Chapter 7: Potions and Dark Counsels**

* * *

They were waiting for Snape to arrive. Everyone had a partner which they sat with; Harry with Veritas, Crabbe and Goyle. Being the odd man out, Blaise sat with Hermione, muttering under his breath about having to deal with another genius. All the students were whispering amongst themselves as the Professor had yet to arrive. It was odd. The clocks must be wrong, because they said that class had been started 5 minutes ago. Harry cast a quick Tempus charm. It really was five minutes late. That meant Snape was late.

Across the room, a certain red haired git was getting excited. "Maybe he got into an accident or a potion-!" A BANG resounded throughout the room as the doors burst open, slamming into the walls. Snape came in, a thunderstorm, robes billowing, glare at maximum output. Those not in Slytherin were withering as his gaze burned with fury that rivaled a volcano. And maybe the Apocalypse. Needless to say, he did not look like he was in a happy mood, and that made Ron very, very nervous.

"There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class. As such, I don't expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion-making," He drawled, pivoting to glare at each Gryffindor in the room. "However, for those... select few... Who possess, the predisposition..." He said with a glance at various Slytherins, "I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death." He paused glaring at the lions, causing the nervous Neville to nearly start crying. Snape continued, sneering,"That is, if you aren't dunderheads like the ones I normally have to deal with."

He moved over to his desk sorting a couple papers; some people began whispering amongst themselves causing Harry to grin. Veritas gave him a puzzled look. Harry smiled wider and whispered, "The Professor had to deal with Mr Malfoy earlier and is clearly pissed off. It should be... Interesting to hear his reaction to "disrespectful" students." Blaise snickered behind them, having overheard his statement. Harry was right; this would prove to be entertaining and Merlin knows he needed something to take his mind off of Draco's problem.

"Weasley!" said Snape suddenly, to the loudly whispering redhead. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" "I don't know, sir," said Ron. Snape's lips curled into a sneer.

"Tut, tut- clearly your brothers aren't teaching you anything." He ignored Hermione's hand raised very promentatily in the air, Blaise snickering next to her. "Let's try again. Weasley, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

"I don't know, sir." "Thought you wouldn't open a book before coming, eh, Weasley?" Ron forced himself to keep looking into those cold eyes, shaking with barely contained rage. Snape was still ignoring Hermione's quivering hand. "What is the difference, Weasley, between monkshood and wolfsbane?" "I don't know," said Ron quietly, rage simmering, Dean casting nervous glances at his partner before timidly mentioning, "I think Hermione does, though, why don't you try her?"

"Sit down," Snape snapped at Hermione. "And quiet Seamus. For your information, Weasley, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. A bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons, which wouldn't be bad for an idiot like you to have. Might save you a trip or five to Madame Pomfrey during my class. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite." Then he turned his enraged gaze at everyone else, "Well? Why aren't you all copying that down?"

Harry and Veritas snickered, Crabbe and Goyle were chuckling, and Blaise was barely able to control his laughter. He took near sadistic pleasure in that redhead's misfortune. Veritas looked behind him as Hermione looked incredulously at the dark skinned boy next to her, "Why is that so funny?!" Blaise raised an eyebrow at her, "Why isn't it? That kid has less brain cells than a squid that's had its brain Banished. Everything he knows are hand me downs from his brothers- which, on a side note, isn't that much- like everything else he owns. Why shouldn't it be funny?" The gang was looking at Hermione and Blaise like it was a Quidittch match. Harry hated to admit it as it was a bit cruel, but it was all rather hilarious, and Hermione's face was turning a brilliant shade of red.

"I'll have you know-!" "Are you doing your work?" She gulped as Snape swooped in. Blaise smiled apologetically (faked of course), "I'm sorry Professor, but Hermione her felt the need to argue with me. I really should have not egged her on." Hermione sputtered indignantly as Snape sneered at the two students. Veritas nudged Harry, "I think Snape thinks it's funny. Look in his eyes." It was true; the Professor's eyes betrayed some amusement about the situation.

"Indeed you should be sorry Mr Zambini. 5 points from Gryffindor." Hermione was gaping, beet red from embarrassment and anger, as the gang laughed. Ron and his lackeys were glaring over at them but kept quiet. Hermione apparently hadn't learned from example Snape had made of Ron earlier. "HOW DARE YOU!" She yelled at Blaise as Snape walked away.

Said potions Peofessor rounded around with frightening speed, "How dare he? How dare you for interrupting my clss." He drawled, "If you do not stop causing a scene you will serve a detention with me and I have had to deal with multiple issues today and I'm NOT in a good mood! 5 more points from Gryffindor."

* * *

Lucius was fuming as he paced. How DARE Severus talk to him like that?! He had every right to disown his ex-son over this! HE was the bloody parent here not Severus! To think that the man would have the nerve to swoop in here, uninvited, and lecture him on what a terrible person he was! The Malfoy head knew for a fact that Sveerus had most of Hogwarts' students shaking in their magical shoes, and yet that greasy haired meddler still thought of himself as better than Lucius Malfoy!

And then Narcissa! She was absolutely livid with him! Honestly! She was probably just mad that they would have to sire another heir and she probably just didn't want to go through being pregnant again. His wife had absolutely loathed it the first time, and he assumed she wouldn't like it the second time anymore. And now, because of this, she was refusing to speak with him. What the bloody hell was up with everyone?!

The Malfoy Head feverishly ran a hand through his blond hair, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, he felt like his angry was out of control! He needed to calm down after working himself into such a rage! He sat down roughly on a seat and summoned a house elf to bring him some tea. With that, he laid back and tried to relax, sipping some tea. He really needed to take a vacation after so much had gone wrong. He sighed, reminiscing of a time when all was going right. He was one of the most powerful Death Eaters, the Dark Lord was on track to take over the world, his son was newly born, and all was going alright. God, Lucius wished it was the old days.

Pecking noises interrupted his blissful daydream. Irritatedly, the blond looked over at the window where an owl sat, waiting to deliver the message. Sighing, the man got up and opened the window letting the bird in. He took the message off of the bird and read it.

_**Lucius Malfoy,**_

_**I heard recently that the Boy-Who-Lived has resurfaced recently.**_ Bloody hell, not this too, Lucius thought. _**He was apparently adopted**_- Adopted? - _**a few years back and his parent lives in Switzerland. He went to Hogwarts this year and apparently got sorted into Slytherin with his adoptive brother.**_- Hello, Hello, Hello, what have we here? A Potter in Slytherin? _**I don't know how this has happened**_- Join the club- _**but I heard his adoptive family are the Sharps. Ring any bells? That's all I have for you. **_

_**Bartemius Crouch Jr. **_

Lucius set down the parchment and contemplated, surprised by that name. He knew who the Sharps were, vaguely. They were an old family that had lived in Europe for centuries, and traced their ancestors farther back to places outside Europe. They were influential, on Switzerland's Education Council, and, not known to many, active supporters of the Dark. Perhaps that could be why the Potter boy was placed in Slytherin. He'd have to think on this; it could very well change the game for them. The Malfoy Head chuckled as he moved to his library, finally some good news today!

* * *

"That was bloody brilliant back there!" Said an enthusiastic boy, coming up to the gang. Harry's eyebrow raised a bit; he didn't remember seeing this kid. Wonder why not... "Hey, you're Theodore Nott, right?" asked Blaise. The hyper boy grinned, "Yep, sure am! Call me Theo though! Hey that ryhmes... Anyways, I just wanted to say that was brilliant back there with that know-it-all Griff! Anyways, see ya!"

Veritas held up a hand, "Wait, do you want to hang out with us? I mean, you're in Slytherin, right? We can be friends, no?" Veritas noticed how Theo suddenly seemed a bit more nervous, jumpy, eyes darting to look at him, a bit.. fearful? The boy shook his head quickly, shying away, "Nah, I got.. stuff to do, places to be, people to see! Bye!" The scrawny kid quickly scurried off, to who knows where, leaving Crabbe, and Goyle looking at each other confused. Blaise turned to them, "That was Theodore Nott. He's really quite clever, but is a complete loner. I've only see him at Draco's a couple times, and he's just as jumpy then."

Veritas shared a questioning glance at Harry. His little brother nodded slightly, signaling that he had noticed Theo's sudden change of behaviour. They would figure it out later. For now they were off to their next class, which was... History of Magic. Well fuck.

* * *

"Faster Peter! Your enemy won't be so forgiving as me!" Clangs rang out as their swords clashed, a flurry of metal, sparks flying. Circling each other were two young men. The older wore a sleeveless blank shirt, black cargo pants, black combat boots with gleaming buckles. His jet black hair was spiked slightly, still gelled up even after the sparring match they had been doing; much to the other's annoyance, he hadn't even really broken a sweat. He was muscular without being overly so, to put it simply, everything about him- appearance and mannerisms- screamed "badass". Something his sparring partner disagreed with, probably out of jealousy.

His sword crossed with the younger, Peter, who looked similar enough to be brothers. He wore a white t-shirt, darkened now, drenched in sweat. His black hair was matted against his head, a sweaty shine on it. Peter's breathing was harder than his brother's. Well, actually, his brother didn't breath at all, so that wasn't really a fair statement. Curse his brother's vampiric powers.

His distraction was proven to be a mistake- again. His older brother swung his sword, using it to disarm Peter and brought the point up to his younger brother's neck. "If this was a real fight, you'd be so dead, it wouldn't be funny. I would bring you back as a vampire just to beat sense into you. Focus! You manage it when you use a pistol, use that focus now!" It annoyed Nico that his little brother could absolutely focus when using modern weaponry that could run out of ammo, but not a decent sword

Peter rolled his eyes a bit, "Hey Nico, what did Mr. Sharp call about?" Nico inwardly sighed at his brother's obvious attempt to stall, but answered, "He was calling about the situation in Britain. The news about that Vampire attack broke this morning. He's already having difficulty doing damage control with this one. With so many wizard and muggle deaths, we're going to have a difficult time with this."

Nico sat down in his leather chair off to the side, grabbing his glass of wine. Peter followed and sat next to him in his own chair, fanning himself. They sat for a moment, in quiet contemplation of the task ahead. After a moment, Nico spoke again, "Alek is thinking of reinstating the Dark Council again." Peter was shocked, "W-wasn't th-th-the Dar-ark Counci-cil disba-ba-banded a hundred ye-years ago?!"

Nico smiled lightly; his brother's stutter was quite cute and endearing when it resurfaced. Peter had gotten past his speech impediment a few years after they had left Britain back in the late 19th century- about 1892- when Nico became Head of the European Vampiric Clans. It still came out sometimes when Peter was startled, confused, or afraid. Nico took a quick sip of his wine before readdressing his younger brother.

"Indeed it was. However, ever since then, the vampire and werewolf feuds are getting worse, Dark Lords have turned public opinion against Dark Magics and Creatures, and those who support any amount of Darkness are losing ground- Especially in Britain, understandably. This is the one of the worst times in history for Dark creatures and their associates. The time has arrived for us to take action, but without a third party like the Sharps, all hope for any unified action is futile. That is why we must organize now, back into the Dark Council."

Peter nodded absentmindedly, "Do you know who is going to be contacted Big Brother?" Nico nodded approvingly, "The werewolves are, the other vampire heads will be as well, as will the Dark Pheonixes. There might be some Banshees, a couple Hags, I think a Sphinx as well. In adittion, the Warlocks will be contacted. And, last but not least, some Dark Wizards will be brought. Namely, the Death Eaters will be invited as they are one of the main causes of the Council's reinstating. It will take place at the Sharp Manor over Christmas break so all of the Sharp Family can attend."

Sighing, Peter looked at his brother, "I assume we'll be using those blasted Thestrals you keep to get there, again?" Nico laughed, "But of course! After all, Portkeys make you sick, the Sharp Manor has more Anti-Appartation Wards than Hogwarts, and broomsticks are absolutely no fun. Plus, Thestrals are more effective than brooms in speed. Why don't you like them again?"

"Look bloody unnatural, that's why! Freak me out every time," Peter muttered to himself, as Nico smiled good naturedly. He stood up, pulling off an overly dramatic sigh, "Well, that's too bad. Guess I could knock you out so they don't make you piss your pants again." He laughed as Peter went beet red, sputtering, "That was one time! One bloody time! And I wasn't even aware they were behind me!"

Nico rolled his eyes and waved off Peter's protests, "Excuses, excuses," he said, clearly teasing his younger brother, merely causing said man to huff. "Come on. We do need to get to work to minimize the effect of Britain's new law. I have a feeling we'll be working overtime." Peter sighed, "Let me shower first."

* * *

**So I hope you guys like it! I promise that next chapter will be longer! I am curious though on your opinions on Theodore. Do you like him, what should his role be, pairing, miscellaneous information? Let your opinions flow, and I will take them into consideration! Seeya next chapter!**

**~FS**


End file.
